Court Rejects Prosecutor's Objection to Gülen's Acquittal
The Supreme Court of Appeals has rejected the Chief Prosecutor's Office's objection to the acquittal of Fethullah Gülen on charges of establishing an illegal organization to undermine the state's secular order, which was upheld by the appeals court in early March.
The Chief Prosecutor's Office had said Gülen, one of the world's most influential religious scholars, should be tried on charges of "establishing an organization with the objective of committing crimes" and demanded that charges filed against Gülen be dropped due to the statute of limitations. The 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld Gülen's acquittal unanimously on March 7, stating that there was no evidence to prove that Gülen had formed an illegal organization to undermine the secular structure of the state.
Charges were first filed against Gülen in 2000 by the chief prosecutor of the Ankara State Security Court (DGM). Gülen was tried under Counterterrorism Law No. 7 on charges of "establishing an illegal organization to undermine the secular structure of the state with the aim of replacing it with a state based on Shariah law and engaging in various activities to this end."
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