Turkish prosecutors seek up to 50-year sentences for 22 ex-judges in FETÖ-linked detention case

Turkish authorities are pursuing severe penalties for a group of 22 former judges and prosecutors accused of orchestrating unlawful detentions in the so-called Revolutionary Headquarters case, which prosecutors say served the objectives of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). The indictment, prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and accepted by the Bakırköy 7th High Criminal Court, alleges that between 2009 and 2012 the defendants abused public office to order arrests, extend imprisonments and reject release requests despite insufficient evidence, seeking prison terms of 10 to 50 years.

The prosecution was triggered by compensation lawsuits filed by five individuals who had been acquitted and later reimbursed by the Treasury for wrongful detention, leading the Council of Judges and Prosecutors to green-light the case in October 2024. All defendants had previously been removed from judicial service over alleged FETÖ connections and had participated in other high-profile probes such as Ergenekon, Balyoz, match-fixing and the Hrant Dink murder investigation. The case revisits the broader narrative of alleged FETÖ infiltration of Turkey’s police and judiciary, first highlighted by former police chief Hanefi Avcı’s 2010 arrest and subsequent legal battles.