Turkish prosecutors seek life terms for MIT truck case suspects

Istanbul prosecutors are seeking aggravated life sentences and prison terms of up to 15 years for 13 defendants for stopping National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks near the Syrian border in 2014, a Turkish judicial source said Thursday.

Prosecutors submitted their opinion to Istanbul's Heavy Penal Court No: 23, demanding aggravated life sentences and prison time ranging from four years and six months to 12 years and six months each for former security directors Yurt Atayun, Ali Fuat Yılmazer, Kazım Aksoy, Erol Demirhan, Nuh Mehmet Damgazi, Ayhan Albayrak, Oğuzhan Ceylan, and Erkan Ünal, said the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The defendants are accused of attempting to overthrow the Turkish government by force and violence, preparing a fake copy of an official document with misuse of authorization and violating the confidentiality of investigations.

Mustafa Gökkılıç could receive an aggravated life sentence and jail time between one-and-a-half years to four-and-a-half years for similar charges, according to the source.

Prosecutors submitted their opinion to Istanbul's Heavy Penal Court No: 23 and also sought prison sentences from seven-and-a-half years to 15 years each for Faik Şasmaz, Fazıl Adnan Izgi, Mehmet Deveci, and Veli Tuluy for being members of an armed terror group, Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). The group and its US-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, is accused of orchestrating a defeated coup in Turkey that left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured on July 15, 2016.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish state through the infiltration of institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Prosecutors are seeking to release Aykut Güçlü for attempting a government overthrow and demanded the release of Sebahattin Kaplan, Musa Metin, Bilal Irice, Ahmet Kılınçarslan on similar charges.

The 2014 incident unfolded when gendarmerie officers affiliated with FETO stopped MIT trucks headed to Syria despite government orders to allow them to pass.

It was characterized as "the first international step of July 15 coup attempt taken by FETO" by a detailed court ruling by the High Criminal Court No: 13 on Dec. 29, 2020, in Adana province.