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Former judge sentenced to 15 years over Gülen links

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Mehmet Kaya, a former judge at Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals, was handed down a 15-year prison sentence on Tuesday for alleged membership in the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

He also had served as the general secretary of the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK).

Kaya, who was dismissed by government decree after a 2016 failed coup, was arrested in February 2018.

Turkey accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating the abortive putsch, although it strongly denies any involvement.

After the coup attempt, the government launched a large-scale crackdown targeting followers of the movement with mass detentions and a purge from state institutions.

On Tuesday prosecutors from İzmir and Ankara issued detention warrants for 77 suspects, including former police officers, over Gülen links.

In the post-coup crackdown, some 600,000 people were the subject of investigation over terrorism links, and nearly 140,000 public servants were fired by government decrees.

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