ISTANBUL
An Istanbul court has acquitted most of the 20 suspects in a long-running case on corruption charges against Lighthouse aid organization.
The 6th High Criminal Court in Istanbul ruled on Wednesday to drop charges of "breach of faith" and "document forgery" against 15 suspects. Charges against five others were dropped due to both acquittals and the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The suspects included Zahid Akman, former head of Turkey's official media watchdog RTUK, and Zekeriya Karaman, Board Chairman of Turkish media group Kanal 7.
The German branch of the aid organization Lighthouse (Deniz Feneri in Turkish) was found guilty in 2008 of misusing millions of euros of aid money. Three of its executives were sentenced to 10 years in prison in total, and its funds were made public property.
The original investigation in Germany found that one fifth of the 41 million euros collected from thousands of donors by Lighthouse in Germany was sent to its Turkish headquarters, prompting a probe in Turkey.
After a three-year investigation period, the case in Turkey began in January 2013. The indictment specifies the date of crimes as pre-2007, which meant that the statute of limitations -- eight years in Turkish Penal Code -- would expire in 2015.
In April 2014, the Istanbul court lifted the freeze on the suspects' assets.
