June 15, 2017•Update: June 15, 2017
ANKARA
Prosecutors on Thursday demanded jail terms of up to 90 years for brothers who allegedly financing the group said to be behind last year’s attempted coup in Turkey, a judicial official said.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office called for 77 years’ imprisonment for Hamdi Akin Ipek, chairman of Koza Ipek Holding, and 90 years for Cafer Tekin Ipek, an executive with several Ipek companies.
Hamdi Akin Ipek is currently at large.
They are among 45 shareholders, directors and employees, including their mother Melek Ipek, charged with offenses relating to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- the group Turkey has accused of orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt.
In an indictment, the prosecution has called for the confiscation of property worth 1.5 billion Turkish liras ($430 million), the officials said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
The defendants face charges including membership of a terrorist organization, tax violations, forgery and firearms possession.
Most face jail sentences of between 10 and 30 years.
Koza Ipek Holding, with interests in media, energy, construction and mining, was raided by counter-terrorism police in September 2015.
The consortium is said to have been used to provide financing to FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, and control over it was transferred to the government’s Saving Deposits Insurance Fund last September.
The attempted coup, which resulted in 250 deaths, is said to have been planned by a cadre of FETO military officers but the group is also accused of running a long-standing campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions.
Reporting by Aylin Sirikli and Baris Kilic; Writing by Fatma Bulbul
