16 August 2017•Update: 16 August 2017
By Muhammed Enes Can, Murat Kaya, Murat Paksoy
ISTANBUL
A local court on Wednesday arrested a defense lawyer representing a suspect in Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) trucks case.
The court accused Deniz Akbulut of ties to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which orchestrated the defeated coup last July.
He was also accused of using the ByLock app, a smart phone software used by FETO members for their inter-organizational communication.
The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s office said Akbulut had been working as a messenger for pro-FETO Gendarmerie officials and his client Hamza Ali Ece, who is believed to be a FETO cleric.
In 2014, FETO-linked Gendarmerie officers stopped MIT trucks on their way to Syria, despite government orders to let them pass.
The prosecutor’s office added that Ece, was representing Gokhan Guclu, one of the suspects who is being tried for an assassination attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during the defeated coup last July.
Guclu, a FETO suspect, appeared in a court last month, with the word “hero” written on his shirt – a gesture which was widely criticized by the government.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016 that left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
