Life sentences sought for 30 with ties to Turkish newspaper
ISTANBUL — A Turkish court accepted a criminal indictment demanding life imprisonment for 30 people with ties to a newspaper linked to a Muslim cleric whom the government accuses of masterminding a coup attempt.
Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency said the defendants, including former managers and columnists for the Zaman newspaper, were charged with “membership in an armed terror organization” and “attempting to overthrow” the country’s government, Parliament and constitutional order.
The prosecutor is seeking sentences of 7 1/2 to 10 years plus three consecutive life-terms for each person charged.
Zaman was raided in March 2016 after a court placed it under the management of trustees and later shuttered for allegedly serving as a mouthpiece for the movement founded by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The move also affected sister newspaper Today’s Zaman, which published in English.