30 October 2017•Update: 30 October 2017
By Melike Gallenkus and Yunus Ege
ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court on Monday released 10 suspected Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)-linked business figures, according to a judicial official.
Known as the TUSKON case, the trial involves members of the TUSKON business association, which was shut down for its alleged financial support to FETO.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara 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.
Istanbul’s 23rd Heavy Penal Court released 10 of 31 suspects, who are in custody, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The court also ordered a travel ban for the released, and lifted the legal ban on assets of all.
The suspects released were named as Ozlem Rukiye Kartal Ucuncu, Nalan Erpolat, Yuksel Nalbant, Ruhi Gurer, Semih Sadir, Rustem Karaoglan, Emrullah Emre Topal, Harun Akca, Nihat Kurt and Cahit Durmaz.
The court adjourned the trial till Dec. 4.
Among those in custody are Faruk Kavurmaci, chairman of the Aydinli Group, and Faruk and Nejat Gullu, brothers and co-owners of the well-known Faruk Gulluoglu baklava chain.
Both companies were placed under the control of trustees after their owners were arrested in September last year.
The trial of 86 suspected Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)-linked business figures, who face up to 22 years in jail if convicted, began in Istanbul on Oct. 23.
Of the 86 suspects, 31 are in custody while three remain fugitives, including Gulen.
Also being tried in absentia are Rizanur Meral, the ex-chairman of the TUSKON, and the association’s former Secretary-General Mustafa Muhammet Gunay.
The indictment from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office seeks three aggravated life imprisonment sentences for Gulen, who has been living in the U.S. since 1999, Meral and Gunay for attempting to overturn the constitutional order, parliament and the government.
They also face between five and 22-and-a-half years for establishing and organizing the FETO, and forging documents as part of a terrorist offense.
Other suspects face imprisonment ranging from seven-and-a-half to 15 years for membership of a terrorist group.
