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Turkish prosecutors demand life sentence for cleric accused of coup plot
Source: The Guardian
Turkish prosecutors demand life sentence for cleric accused of coup plot
Fethullah Gülen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric, is accused of attempting to
overthrow the government and forming a terrorist organisation
Safak Timur in Istanbul and Kareem Shaheen
Thursday 7 January 2016 09.34 GMT
Turkish prosecutors are demanding a sentence of life in prison for a top opponent of the country’s president accused of plotting a coup.
Fethullah Gülen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric, is accused of attempting to overthrow the government and forming a terrorist organisation. His trial in absentia began on Wednesday in Istanbul.
The trial is the latest move in a campaign against Gülen, an ally-turned-foe of the president who is claimed to have established a “parallel state” in the Turkish judiciary and security services that orchestrated a 2013 corruption investigation that briefly threatened to engulf the Justice and Development party (AKP) government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
It comes two months after Erdoğan’s party secured a sweeping victory in November’s parliamentary polls, securing a majority that allows it to continue its single-party rule.
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Fethullah Gülen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric, is accused of attempting to
overthrow the government and forming a terrorist organisation
Safak Timur in Istanbul and Kareem Shaheen
Thursday 7 January 2016 09.34 GMT
Turkish prosecutors are demanding a sentence of life in prison for a top opponent of the country’s president accused of plotting a coup.
Fethullah Gülen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric, is accused of attempting to overthrow the government and forming a terrorist organisation. His trial in absentia began on Wednesday in Istanbul.
The trial is the latest move in a campaign against Gülen, an ally-turned-foe of the president who is claimed to have established a “parallel state” in the Turkish judiciary and security services that orchestrated a 2013 corruption investigation that briefly threatened to engulf the Justice and Development party (AKP) government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
It comes two months after Erdoğan’s party secured a sweeping victory in November’s parliamentary polls, securing a majority that allows it to continue its single-party rule.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/07/turkish-prosecutors-life-sentence-cleric-coup-plot-fethullah-gulen