27 get jail time over FETO terror convictions

By Kubra Chohan

ANKARA

A total of 27 people were convicted and sentenced to prison on Wednesday in southern and southeastern provinces of Turkey for being members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup, according to a security source.

In the southeastern province of Adiyaman, the 2nd High Criminal court gave separate jail terms of nine and 12 years to two lawyers, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In the southern province of Adana, a former police chief was sentenced to nine years in jail for being a member of an armed terrorist group, while seven people in a separate hearing were handed jail terms ranging from three to nine years.

A total of 15 people were given sentences ranging from over one to 10 years in courts in the southern provinces of Antalya and Kahramanmaras.

In the southeastern provinces of Sanliurfa and Gaziantep, two defendants, including a so-called imam -- a senior terrorist responsible for coordinating FETO cells -- in the armed forces were given prison terms ranging from over six years to nine.

The defeated coup on July 15, 2016 left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara 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.

*Kemal Karagoz, Abdulkerim Satuk Bugrahan Topaloglu, Gulsem Adam, Adsiz Gunebakan, and Rauf Maltas contributed to this story