Former Istanbul governor, ex-police chief get jail terms over Gulen links

A court in Turkey has given jail terms to a former governor of Istanbul and an ex-police commissioner over affiliation to the movement of the US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Ankara government accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt.

A judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Saturday that Istanbul’s 30th Heavy Criminal Court had sentenced former governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu to three years, one month and 15 days in prison, while ex-police commissioner Hüseyin Çapkın got two years and one month in jail.

Mutlu denied any links to the Gulen movement, and strongly rejected all charges.

“Everything about me has been analyzed. It has been seen that I am transparent. I have never had a relationship with this [Gulen] movement. For my whole life, I have adhered to the constitution and the law. There is no tangible evidence in the indictment in relation to [the] Gulen movement,” he said.

Mutlu was arrested on August 5, 2016 along with nine other suspects, shortly after the botched putsch.

Çapkın, who was arrested on September 3, 2016, has also dismissed the charges brought against him.

“I’m not a part of such an organization. I’ve never received help from [such] an organization during my career. I’ve never sent my children to any schools belonging to this group,” he said.

During the botched putsch, a faction of the Turkish military declared that it had seized control of the country and the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was no more in charge. The attempt was, however, suppressed a few hours later.

Ankara has accused Gulen of having orchestrated the coup. The opposition figure is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to topple the government via infiltrating the country’s institutions, particularly the army, police and the judiciary. 

Additionally, the Ankara government has outlawed his movement, and has branded it as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Gulen has denounced the “despicable putsch” and reiterated that he had no role in it.

The 76-year-old cleric has called on Ankara to end its “witch hunt” of his followers, a move he said is aimed at “weeding out anyone it deems disloyal to President Erdogan and his regime.”

Turkish officials have frequently called on their US counterparts to extradite Gulen, but their demands have not been taken heed of.

Turkey, which remains in a state of emergency since the coup, has been engaged in suppressing the media and opposition groups suspected to have played a role in the failed coup.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of having links to Gulen and the failed coup. More than 110,000 others, including military staff, civil servants and journalists have been sacked or suspended from work over the same accusations.

The international community and rights groups have been highly critical of the Turkish president over the massive dismissals and the crackdown.

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