Life sentences sought for 55 suspects in new Turkish intel trucks indictment

An Istanbul prosecutor has sought three life sentences each for a total of 55 suspects in a new indictment regarding a case into trucks belonging to Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MİT). 

The indictment by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor İrfan Fidan was prepared upon determining new suspects after four previous indictments concerning the stopping and searching of MİT trucks in southern Turkey in early 2014 while they allegedly were carrying weapons to Syria. 

According to Fidan, the "imam" suspects responsible for stopping the trucks held phone calls with the U.S. Embassy and Consulate General.

"Imam," which traditionally refers to a religious public worker, is a term used by the followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen to mark local leadership.

The indictment named a total of 55 suspects, including a major general, two colonels, two lieutenant colonels, seven majors, 11 captains and one former MİT personnel. 

Eleven civilian "imams," who were in charge of gendarmerie officers at the scene where the trucks were stopped and those who organized and directed the act, were determined, according to the indictment. 

Among the 11 "imams," one is under arrest, while the remaining 10 are fugitives. In addition, five of them are teachers, two are faculty members, one is a health ministry employee, one is a labor and social security ministry employee and the last one is an expert at the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK). 

According to the new indictment, these "imams" were at the scene and used operational lines between Jan. 1 and 19, 2014. The "imams" spoke among each other and with the soldiers under their command for 19 days by these phones and canceled the lines on the night...