15 August 2018•Update: 15 August 2018
By Murat Kaya and Basak Akbulut Yazar
ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court on Wednesday ruled to release the head of Amnesty International's Turkish office.
The 35th High Penal Court in Istanbul issued release order for Taner Kilic, who has been jailed for over a year under the charges of being a member of an armed terror group and supporting a terrorist organization.
Kilic was arrested last July in a police raid during a meeting on Buyukada Island off Istanbul, along with 11 suspects including two foreign nationals.
Ten suspects arrested were earlier released by the court.
Kilic was accused of being a member of Fetullah Terrorist Organisation, a group behind the deadly coup attempt in July 2016.
He was also accused of using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app used by the FETO members during and after the defeated coup attempt.
An Istanbul court ruled for his conditional release on Jan. 31, but he was rearrested the next day following an appeal by a prosecutor and had been in detention ever since.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.
Turkey 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.
