On the eighth anniversary of the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, Tayfun Kahraman, an academic and city planner sentenced to prison in the Gezi Park case, has once again reminded the origins of the indictment that led to his and seven others’ imprisonment.
Kahraman, who is currently held in Silivri prison in the outskirts of İstanbul, highlighted that the indictment was prepared by the Fetullah Gülen group, which has been blamed for orchestrating the failed coup.
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In a statement posted on his social media account, Kahraman condemned the coup attempt and honored the victims, stating, "I curse the heinous July 15 coup attempt and remember our martyrs and veterans with gratitude. For a genuine reckoning, I remind that the indictment, concocted with scenarios prepared by FETÖ terrorists, which led to our baseless and unlawful imprisonment, needs to be purged from our judiciary."
The Fetullah Gülen group, dubbed as the “Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ),” an Islamist movement known for infiltrating state institutions and significant financial resources, is held responsible for the 2016 coup attempt. Following the failed coup, a widespread purge targeted Gülenists across the judiciary, police, military and other institutions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday that over one-third of all officers, which amounts to over 30,000 individuals, and more than 80% of staff officers were dismissed for being members of the FETÖ.
However, the Gezi Park case indictment was drafted in 2013, when Gülenists and the ruling AKP were still in alliance, and Gülenist judiciary officials were using sweeping criminal cases to eliminate political opponents. Despite the breaking of the alliance and widespread criticism from national and international human rights groups about the lack of concrete evidence, the defendants were convicted based on this indictment.
The 2013 events marked the largest-ever anti-government protests in the history of the Republic, with more than 5 million people in all but one province of Turkey flocked to the streets. The protests were sparked by the Erdoğan government’s attempt to demolish Gezi Park on İstanbul’s famous Taksim Square for a shopping center project in the form of the old military barracks from the Ottoman area.
Philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in 2022 for allegedly orchestrating and financing an attempted coup against the government. Tayfun Kahraman, along with seven other defendants, received 18-year sentences for allegedly aiding this attempt. These sentences were upheld by the Court of Cassation in 2023. (EMK/VK)
