2 FETO members to serve over 7 years in jail

ISTANBUL

Two affiliates of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) were sentenced by a Turkish court on Wednesday to seven years and six months in prison.

Osman Karakaya and Cihan Ozkan were caught in Kosovo by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) as part of Ankara's investigation into the terror group’s organizational structure abroad.

They were among the six people in Kosovo brought back to Turkey by MIT, in cooperation with Kosovo’s intelligence authorities. Karakaya and Ozkan arrived in Turkey on March 29, 2018.

An Istanbul court heard Karakaya and Ozkan's case, sentencing them for membership of an armed terror group. Both defendants denied all terrorism-related charges.

The indictment charged both defendants with managing the terrorist organization and international espionage, with prosecutors seeking up to 16 years and six months jail time.

They were also charged with operating in FETO-linked education facilities in Kosovo, and their case was adjudicated separately from the other four suspects.

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

Turkey 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 Ali Murat Alhas