Fourteen get jail terms over links to Turkey defeated coup

Turkish courts on Tuesday handed jail terms to 14 people over their links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

The 2nd High Criminal Court in the Aegean province of Izmir sentenced former official of the gendarmerie to nine years and nine months in prison for being members of an armed terrorist organization.

In another trial, Mesut Turhan, a businessman, appeared before the 13th High Criminal Court facing similar charges. The court found him guilty on both charges and sentenced him to nine years in prison.

Moreover, eight people, including health staff and doctors, were also sentenced to up to six years and three months by the High Criminal Court of the central province of Kirsehir.

In addition, two people, including a former teacher, were also convicted of terror links in two separate cases in the Black Sea province of Kastamonu.

The Kastamonu High Criminal Court sentenced ex-teacher Mustafa Dalan to nine years in jail for being member of an armed terror group and spreading terrorist propaganda.

Another defendant, Rahim Dilli, was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for being a member of the terror group.

In Ordu, another province in Turkey's Black Sea region, a high criminal court found two defendants guilty for being members of a terror group. They were sentenced to six years and three months in jail.

Thousands of defendants in trials across Turkey are accused of being FETÖ members on the basis that they used the Bylock app in the wake of the July 15 defeated coup, which left 250 people martyred.

The app is believed to have been cracked by Turkish security agencies, allowing them to identify tens of thousands of FETÖ supporters.

The terror group is held accountable for being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, including police, military and judiciary.