10.09.2025 17:17
A verdict has been announced in the case of Kemalettin Gülen, the cousin of FETÖ leader Fethullah Gülen, who died in the United States, accused of making insulting posts on social media about Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and President Erdoğan. The judge sentenced Gülen to 3 years and 3 months in prison for "insulting the President in a repeated manner" and "insulting the memory of Atatürk."
The trial of Kemalettin Gülen, the cousin of Fetullah Gülen, the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) who died in the United States, was held on the grounds of allegations that he made insulting posts on social media against Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
NO MITIGATION OF SENTENCES APPLIED
In the trial held at the 41st Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul, the decision was announced. The court decided to sentence Kemalettin Gülen to 1 year and 9 months in prison for the crime of 'insulting the President in a chain manner.' He was also sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for the crime of 'insulting the memory of Atatürk.' No mitigation was applied to the sentences given, and it was decided that Gülen would be released under judicial control with the condition of 'not leaving the country' in this case.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that an investigation was initiated after the Cyber Crime Department officials detected that the suspect Kemalettin Gülen made criminal posts on social media during virtual patrol activities.
In the prepared indictment, it was noted that Gülen made insulting posts against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from his social media account, and also used expressions such as "Putatürk" and "Sabbatean turncoat Kamal" regarding Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, thus insulting Atatürk's memory, and therefore the statements could not be evaluated within the scope of freedom of expression.
The indictment also included Gülen's defense, stating that he claimed the social media account where the posts were made did not belong to him, that he did not make the posts, that he saw these posts and accounts for the first time, and that he did not accept the accusations against him. In the prepared indictment, it was requested that the suspect Kemalettin Gülen be sentenced to a total of 2 years and 11 months to 12 years and 8 months in prison for the crimes of 'publicly insulting the memory of Atatürk' and 'publicly insulting the President in a chain manner.'