Criminal cases filed against people currently tried over involvement in the July 15, 2016, coup attempt will be finalized by the end of 2018, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, accusing the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), believed to have orchestrated the attempted takeover, of clouding the judicial processes.
“There are two groups of cases that are ongoing. The first group includes cases against individuals who have been directly involved in the coup attempt. These cases are rapidly heading toward convictions. I hope that by the end of this year all of them will be over,” Yıldırım said, addressing a congress on Jan. 10 in Ankara.
The second batch of cases includes suspects tried for being members of FETÖ, the prime minister said, adding that the number of those being accused over membership in the group are increasing, but the cases should be “carried out with utmost care.”
He also spoke about recent revelations that around 11,000 people were wrongly accused of using ByLock, an encrypted messaging application used by members of FETÖ, when they were actually redirected to the app without their consent.
“The signs indicate that FETÖ is aiming to drag many people, related or unrelated, into the judicial process. This insidious plan is a trap set within our judicial system,” Yıldırım said.
“But our judiciary will never fall into this trap,” he vowed. “The best example of the technical plot set by them with ByLock has been revealed. Nobody should worry. Our prosecutors and judges will work on this issue thoroughly.”