Turkish singer Atilla Taş detained over alleged links to Gülen movement

Atilla Taş, a former singer and a columnist for the now-closed Meydan daily, was detained by police on Friday morning for the execution of his prison sentence following the decision of a regional appeal court to uphold the prison sentence of the 3 years, 1 month and 15 days over his alleged links to the Gülen movement.

Speaking to online news outlet Bianet, Prof. Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, one of the lawyers of Taş, has stated that Taş was detained at his house by police officers on Friday and taken to the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. Akdeniz has stated that Taş has been detained for the execution of his prison sentence, which was previously upheld by the court of appeal.

The İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court had sentenced Taş to 3 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison by charging him “knowingly and willingly aiding an armed terrorist organization as a non-member.” The sentence was upheld by the court of appeal on October 24. Lawyer Akdeniz stated that it is not yet certain whether Taş will be sent to prison.

Atilla Taş was arrested on September 3, 2016. As part of a lawsuit filed against 29 people, 26 of whom had been behind bars, a ruling of release was given for 21 defendants including Taş and Aksoy on March 31, 2017. However, none of the arrested defendants were released after new arrest warrants were issued for them on the same day. Having been arrested for 1 year, 1 month and 21 days, Atilla Taş was released on October 24, 2017.

On August 30, 2016, İstanbul Chief  Prosecutor’s Office issued a detention warrant for 35 people, including several academics and journalists, as part of the investigation against the alleged members of the Gülen movement in wake of a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Twenty-seven of the 35 detainees were later arrested.

The lawsuit was concluded on October 24, 2017, and as per the ruling of the court, 23 defendants were given prison sentences of 6 years and 3 months to 7 years and 6 months on a charge of “being members of an armed terrorist organization.” While Atilla Taş was sentenced to 3 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison for “aiding an armed terrorist organization.”

The ones sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison: Ahmet Memiş, Ali Akkuş, Muhammet Sait Kuloğlu, Mutlu Çölgeçen, Seyid Kılıç, Ünal Tanık, Erkan Acar, Oğuz Usluer, Davut Aydın, Ufuk Şanlı, Yetkin Yıldız and Cuma Ulus.

The ones sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison: Cihan Acar, Bünyamin Köseli, İbrahim Balta, Bayram Kaya, Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Habip Güler, Hanım Büşra Erdal, Yakup Çetin, Hüseyin Aydın, Abdullah Kılıç and Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu.

Turkey is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). If Turkey falls two more places, it will make it to the list of countries on the blacklist, which have the poorest record in press freedom.

Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF show that 239 journalists and media workers were in jail as of October 31, 2018, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 170 were under arrest pending trial while only 69 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 148 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey.

Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down some 200 media outlets, including Kurdish news agencies and newspapers, after a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

The post Turkish singer Atilla Taş detained over alleged links to Gülen movement appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.

from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-singer-atilla-tas-detained-over-alleged-links-to-gulen-movement/