Serdar Seyidoğlu, the general manager of the Seyidoğlu Baklava chain, who was arrested over alleged links to the Gülen movement last October, was released from jail by an İstanbul court on Tuesday.
The first hearing in the trial of Seyidoğlu, who faces charges of membership in an armed terror organization and attempting to destroy the constitutional order, was held at the İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court. The court decided to release Seyidoğlu considering time spent in prison.
A large number of desert makers have either been detained or arrested in Turkey since a failed coup attempt on July 15 for which the government pins the blame on the Gülen movement. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the putsch.
Faruk Güllü, one of the brothers who run the famous baklava chain Güllüoğlu, is currently under arrest over his alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Critics have lambasted the government for wielding the broad powers it has gained under post-coup emergency rule. Plumbers, teachers, drivers, journalists, comedians, small business owners, court personnel, university students, construction workers and postmen are among the thousands of ordinary citizens who have been either arrested or detained over ties to the movement.