By Muhammed Enes Can, Mustafa Hatipoglu, Huseyin Kulaoglu
ISTANBUL (AA) – An Istanbul court on Friday sentenced several top figures of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), including a former police officer and ex-chairman of a FETO-linked television network, up to 31 years in prison for plotting against a publishing group in 2009.
The 14th High Criminal Court issued its final verdict in the 'Tahsiyeciler' case, handing down a jail sentence of 31 years to Hidayet Karaca, the former chairman of Samanyolu TV (STV), for having a leadership role in an armed terrorist organization, defamation and forgery of official documents.
The court also sentenced ex-policeman Ali Fuat Yilmazer to 16 years and 6 months in jail for being a member of an armed terrorist group.
In addition to Karaca and Yilmazer, FETO leader Fetullah Gulen, former editor-in-chief of FETO-linked Zaman newspaper, Ekrem Dumanli, and 31 other suspects are accused of plotting against the Tahsiyeciler group, according to an indictment filed in 2015.
The indictment was filed following a probe into a 2011 complaint filed by Mehmet Nuri Turan, founder of the Istanbul-based Tahsiye publishing house, which was targeted by Fetullah Gulen and FETO-linked media outlets.
The name of the group, which is now known as Tahsiyeciler, was allegedly first coined by Fethullah Gulen in a speech he gave on Apr. 6, 2009 where he hinted at the existence of a terrorist organization called Tahsiye.
The FETO leader had alleged that Tahsiye publishing house and its “Tahsiyeciler ” group had links with extremist organizations.
Following the first mention of the group, FETO-linked media outlets began covering the subject, supporting the belief that there was such an organization engaged in terrorism.
The group was also allegedly defamed as a shadowy organization in the “One Turkey ” TV series that used to be aired on STV, which was closed by the government following the defeated coup attempt last year.
Ali Fuat Yilmazer, who was the head of police intelligence department at that time, had also submitted a report in 2009 which alleged that Tahsiyeciler supported extremist groups like al-Qaeda because of which the group was systematically targeted.
