On August 30, 2016, İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's office issued a detention order for 35 people, including several academics and journalists, as part of the investigation against FETÖ following the coup attempt on July 15. 27 of the 35 detainees were later arrested. The journalists and writers were arrested on different days, and they had been waiting eight months for the trial to begin.
FETÖ'nün medya yapılanmasına yönelik davanın İstanbul 25. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi'nde 31 Mart'ta görülen duruşmasında Atilla Taş ve Murat Aksoy'un da aralarında bulunduğu 21 kişi tahliye edilmiş, duruşma savcısı 8'inin tahliyesine itiraz etmişti.