An Ankara court on Wednesday accepted an indictment against Turkish comedian Atalay Demirci, who was arrested in August 2016 over alleged links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by Turkish authorities of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
The indictment, drafted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, seeks a life sentence and an additional sentence of up to 10 years, to be served consecutively, for the comedian on coup charges.
In the indictment, Twitter messages between Demirci and former Turkish football player Hakan Şükür and Enes Kanter, a Turkish basketball player in the NBA, who are also accused of links to the Gülen movement, are cited as evidence for Demirci’s ties to the faith-based group.
The movement denies any involvement in the coup attempt. (TurkeyPurge)