Today marks the 84th month of former STV head’s imprisonment on “terror” charges

Today marks the 84th month of imprisonment of Hidayet Karaca, former chief executive of the Samanyolu Media Group, on terror charges.

According to tweets posted by his son, Sıdkı, Hidayet Karaca has been in İstanbul’s Silivri Prison for a total of 2557 days. 1496 of those days were in solitary confinement.

“As of today, he is in the 84th month (2557 days) of his imprisonment” Sıdkı tweeted.

Hidayet Karaca has been held in the notorious Silivri Prison in İstanbul since December 14, 2014 and was sentenced by an İstanbul court to 31 years, six months’ imprisonment over the scenario of a TV series that was broadcast by Samanyolu TV. Karaca was sentenced on charges of membership in a terrorist organization for his alleged ties to the Gülen movement and for allegedly slandering the al-Qaeda-affiliated radical Islamist group Tahşiyeciler.

In June 2018 the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court handed down an aggravated life sentence to Karaca on charges of attempting to overturn the constitutional order. His sentence was later upheld by the 20th Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice in November 2020 as part of a case that was launched against 75 people accused of links to the faith-based movement inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen group since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He locked up thousands including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigation as well as journalists who reported on them.

Erdoğan intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The crackdown also targeted political opponents of the government, Kurdish activists and human rights defenders, among others. Gülen denies involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.