Former Turkish prosecutor Mustafa Bilgili, who was among a group of judiciary members who ordered the search of a sensitive military facility in Ankara known as “cosmic room” in 2009 as part of an investigation into an assassination plot against a former prime minister, has been handed down a jail sentence of 17 years, the Sputnik news website reported.
The trial of Bilgili and former judges Halil İbrahim Kütük and Nihal Uslu, who are all jailed, continued at the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals on Thursday. They were standing trial due to their role in the search of the cosmic rooms.
These judges were part of an investigation into an assassination plot against former Prime Minister Bülent Arınç as a part of which they searched top-secret military documents held in two “cosmic rooms” at the Turkish General Staff in Ankara, where documents pertaining to state or military secrets are archived.
A large number of documents, CDs and hard discs containing state and military secrets were seized during the investigation into the alleged assassination plot at the time.
Bilgili was given the 17-year prison sentence, Kütük 12 years and Uslu 14 years on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and obtaining documents containing state secrets.
The former judiciary members are charged with membership in the Gülen movement, which is labeled as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
