A Turkish prosecutor has demanded a life sentence for a teacher accused of notifying the gendarmerie in 2014 when National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks carrying weapons to jihadists in Syria were caught near border, the Hürriyet daily reported.
Mustafa İlhan is accused of being a “secret imam” responsible for military members affiliated with the Gülen movement in Hatay province. Turkish authorities believe “secret imams” organized the movement’s infiltration of the Turkish army.
According to the indictment, İlhan had made an anonymous notification to the gendarmerie informing them of the MİT trucks. He has been at large for more than three years.
One of the reports on the MİT trucks was published by the Cumhuriyet daily and led to the months-long jailing of then-editor-in-chief Can Dündar and opposition deputy Enis Berberoğlu on espionage charges.
The only evidence of İlhan being the tipster to the gendarmerie that day was his own testimony, according to the report.
Turkey accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016, although it denies any involvement. Since then dozens of suspects have been detained for being “secret imams,” while some were kidnapped by Turkish intelligence and tortured, according to reports.