Turkish prosecutors are seeking an aggravated life sentence for Yusuf Pekmezci, an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease, in a case accusing him of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.
The İzmir 2nd High Criminal Court accepted an indictment prepared by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office charging Pekmezci with “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.”
The indictment cites Pekmezci’s charitable activities in İzmir and his past association with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as evidence supporting the charge.
Pekmezci is accused of maintaining ties with the Gülen movement, a transnational civic initiative inspired by Gülen.
Ankara blames the movement for Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt and designates it as a terrorist organization. The movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
According to the case file, Pekmezci’s previous and ongoing charitable work in İzmir was presented as part of the basis for seeking an aggravated life sentence.
In his initial statement, Pekmezci reportedly said, “I like Fethullah Gülen. I cannot call him a terrorist.”
Pekmezci suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension and osteoporosis.
His daughter has also been jailed pending trial, while his son-in-law remains in pretrial detention.
Pekmezci’s assets were seized as part of the case.
The indictment highlights the breadth of post-coup prosecutions targeting alleged Gülen movement links, including cases in which charitable activity, personal association and statements of sympathy for Gülen are treated as evidence in serious constitutional-order charges.
