Istanbul court delivers final verdict for opposition MP

By Filiz Kinik and Emin Avundukluoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The 2nd Penal Chamber of Istanbul Regional Court of Justice on Tuesday delivered the final verdict in the case of Enis Berberoglu, whose previous sentence of 25 years in prison has been reduced to five years and 10 months.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Berberoglu was initially sentenced to 25 years in June 2017 by the 14th Heavy Penal Court on the grounds that he had leaked the details of the “MIT trucks case” to a newspaper. His case was appealed and later forwarded to the 2nd Penal Chamber of Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.

The court has delivered the final verdict and found him guilty of leaking to Can Dundar, the then editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet daily, footage showing National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks being stopped en route to Syria in Jan. 2014.

Speaking to his party's lawmakers in the parliament regarding the delivery of the verdict, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said they would never accept the prison sentence for Berberoglu.

"My brother Enis, don't you worry. I am sure -- as sure as my name is Kemal -- that you will be definitely acquitted at the end of this judicial process," said Kilicdaroglu.

In 2014, FETO-linked gendarmerie officers stopped the MIT trucks on their way to Syria, despite government orders to let them pass.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, leaving 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.