Turkish court hands jail terms to 14 over FETO ties

By Serdar Acil, Cemil Murat Budak, Aybuke Inal

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish court handed down jail terms to 14 members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in a trial involving executives of Koza Ipek Holding, according to a judicial source on Thursday.

Heavy Penal Court No. 24 in Ankara sentenced Cafer Tekin Ipek to 11 years and three months in prison for being a member of an armed terrorist group. He was also sentenced to 68 years and five months for violating tax procedure law and capital market law.

Melek Ipek, another convict, was sentenced to seven years and six months in jail for ties with the FETO. Ipek also received four years and two months prison sentence for violating capital market law.

The defendants Hasan Burak Sertcan, Harun Ekinci, Saban Yoruklu and Ali Serdar Hasircioglu also received jail terms on charges of “being a member of an armed terror group”.

Ebru Ipek, Ismet Sivrioglu, Ozlem Ozdemir, Fikret Sayan, Huseyin Erdem, Selim Elmasoglu, Mahir Sermet and Orhan Selcuk Hasircioglu were handed down jail terms for aiding and abetting armed terror group.

The court decided to separate the court files of fugitive defendants Hamdi Akin Ipek, Pelin Zenginer, Osman Zenginer, Ayhan Yurttas and Nevin Ipek.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen is accused of orchestrating the defeated coup July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

*Writing by Burak Dag