Turkish prosecutors seek 2 life sentences for Gulen
ANKARA, Turkey — Prosecutors in western Turkey have demanded a life sentence for U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the failed coup, the state-run news agency reported Tuesday.
Concluding a yearlong investigation into his movement’s financial dealings, prosecutors in the city of Usak demanded that Gulen be punished with two life sentences plus 1,900 years in prison, the Anadolu Agency reported.
In the more than 2,500-page indictment accepted by the court in Usak on Tuesday, Gulen and 111 other suspects are accused of transferring funds obtained through charities or donations to the United States via “front” companies, Anadolu said. It said the indictment also makes reference to Gulen’s alleged role in the July 15 coup.
Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is already on trial in absentia in Turkish courts, facing life terms over accusations of plotting to overthrow the government and leading an armed group. He has also been indicted on a charge of leading a terror organization and faces another trial in absentia in November.