Turkey: Defendant in espionage trial could get 35 years

ISTANBUL

Istanbul prosecutors are seeking up to 35 years in jail for a fugitive journalist on espionage charges, Turkish judicial sources said on Wednesday.

Under the indictment just submitted to Istanbul’s High Criminal Court no:14, Can Dundar could get anywhere from about 22 to 35 years behind bars, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Dundar is facing charges over revealing state secrets by publishing images of Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks purportedly transporting arms to Syria.

In publishing the images, Dundar helped the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) without being a member of the terror group, says the indictment.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated a defeated coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016, leaving 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.

As Dundar is a fugitive, his trial is being held in absentia.

* Written by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara