By Soner Kilinc

USAK, Turkey

A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced to prison a former columnist of a daily linked to FETO -- the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.

The 2nd High Criminal Court in Usak, a western Anatolian province, handed down a jail term of 19-and-a-half years on charges of founding and managing an armed terrorist group.

Ali Unal, a former columnist for Zaman newspaper which has been shut down, denied accusations saying he had written over 90 books and worked for newspapers for 26 years, including 20 years for daily Zaman.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.