Turkey: Ex-adviser of opposition leader gets jail term

By Murat Paksoy, Murat Kaya

ISTANBUL

A court on Tuesday sentenced the former adviser of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader to over 10 years in prison over his links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

The Istanbul 25th Heavy Panel Court ordered ten years and six months jail term for Fatih Gursul -- former adviser for Kemal Kilicdaroglu on science, technology and communication -- on charges of being a member of an armed terror organization.

Gursul had been arrested in Ankara in December 2016.

FETO, led by U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated July 2016 coup in Turkey, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

The group is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Arrests

In Turkey’s southern province of Adana, 12 suspects, including teachers and university students, were arrested for using the Bylock app.

ByLock is an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during last year's defeated coup attempt.

In southern Adana province, four suspects including a hotel owner and its manager were arrested over their links to FETO. Adil Oksuz, a top suspect in last year’s coup attempt in Turkey, was reported to have hosted a meeting at the hotel in Adana’s Seyhan district.

In southeastern province of Diyarbakir, police conducted simultaneous anti-terror operations. At least seven people were arrested in the operations.

In central Anatolian province of Aksaray, four pharmacists were arrested over their suspected links to the FETO.

In northwestern province of Edirne, a former Foreign Ministry staffer, who has allegedly had links to FETO, was arrested while attempting to flee Turkey, according to a security official.

Later, the suspect was remanded in custody by a court.

Sentences

A high criminal court in the Black Sea Kastamonu province handed a jail term of 15 years to a former teacher for "founding or managing an armed terrorist organization”.

In another Black Sea province of Ordu, a man was sentenced to more than six years in jail for using the Bylock app.

In Adana, one more received a jail sentence of over six years for being a member of the FETO.

In Turkey’s southeastern province of Sanliurfa, a businessman was sentenced to over seven years in jail for using the Bylock app.