FETO-linked suspect found guilty in MIT trucks case

By Muhammed Enes Can,Murat Kaya and Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - A main Fetullah Terrorist Organization- (FETO) linked suspect has been found guilty in Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) trucks case on Wednesday, a judicial official said.

Suleyman Gurbuz, one of the suspected "Imam" (leader) of pro-FETO Gendarmerie officials, was sent to jail by the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court, the official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.

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

Gurbuz was found guilty of several charges including establishing or managing a terrorist organization, attempting to prevent the government of Turkey from doing its duty, providing information about the governments security that should remain confidential and attempting to abolish the constitutional order.

He was also accused of using the ByLock app, a smartphone software allegedly used by the FETO members for internal communication during Turkey’s defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which martyred 250 people and injured over 2,000 others.

Using the app, Gurbuz had contacted Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader’s advisor Fatih Gursul, who was arrested in December as part of a probe into the FETO.

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.