Turkish court delivers full decision on 2012 FETO terror plot

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court delivered the reasoned decision Thursday on the case of the 2012 plot of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), known as the group's first overt attempt to overthrow the government.

The Istanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court's decision of over 1,000 pages, which was forwarded to the defendants and their lawyers, detailed the successful operations of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) against the PKK terrorist group in the decade prior to Feb. 7, 2012, when FETO-affiliated police chiefs and prosecutors wanted to take over MIT by launching a sham investigation against it.

FETO attempted to discredit MIT, which was viewed by the terror group as a bastion to be captured, through the Feb. 7 plot, the decision said.

Hakan Fidan, the director of MIT, and Afet Gunes and Emre Taner, two senior administrators of the agency at the time, were peculiarly targeted by the terror group because of their keen efforts against FETO’s attempts to infiltrate the agency, the decision highlighted.

Through the plot, FETO intended to portray the Turkish government’s well-intentioned efforts to find a solution to the terror problem, with which the country has fought for decades, and problems of Turkish citizens with Kurdish origins as an act of betrayal, according to the decision.

The decision also revealed that the FETO and PKK terror groups have cooperated against the government.

The ultimate aim of the plot, which was personally approved and supervised by the FETO terror group’s leader, Fetullah Gulen, was overthrowing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who acted vigilantly and undermined the plot, the decision added.

Having its attempts foiled first on Feb. 7, 2012 and later on Dec.17-25, 2013, FETO carried out the July 15 coup attempt in 2016 but failed as a result of the Turkish nation’s determination.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Ankara 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.