The 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld the sentence of former Police Chief Hanefi Avcı and, according to experts, the decision is the result of Gülenist infiltration in the chamber. Avcı was sentenced to five years and seven months in jail on charges of aiding a leftist terror organization and its members as part of the Revolutionary Headquarters Organization trial. Avcı, who was convicted in the Revolutionary Headquarters Organization trial, was jailed in 2010 and later released in 2014 following the top court's decision. His imprisonment in 2010 came after writing a book that criticized the Gülen Movement.The Constitutional Court of Appeals Prosecutor's Office ruled on June 20 that Avcı should be released. He had received a 15-year sentence but only served four years. The Constitutional Court's decision stated that his rights had been breached.Avcı was jailed after publishing a book claiming the extent of alleged infiltration of the Gülen Movement in the police. In his book he says members of the Gülen Movement went as far as intervening in intelligence activities by illegally raiding trucks used by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He said they are influential in the judiciary and police and that it was too late for the government to stop their plot.Avcı made the first comment regarding the court decision on a private TV channel, OdaTv, saying: "We expected such a [decision] from this board [of judicial members]. But this judicial process has a way to go. I hope it ends in success."Avcı's lawyer Fidel Okan spoke to Daily Sabah about the approval of the sentence Avcı was issued by the Supreme Court of Appeals, saying they will appeal to the Constitutional Court for the violation of his client's rights. Okan, however, said that all the processes they will pursue from now on will be through the usage of "extraordinary means of law."Okan said, "The members of the Gülen Movement in the Supreme Court have upheld Avcı's sentence. We were not surprised by this."Prominent journalist Ferhat Ünlü also assessed the incident, saying the decision was an indicator that the members of the Gülen Movement are resuming their existence in the body."Control in the supreme court has not been totally lost yet since it has not yet been reshaped like the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), after a vote took place that resulted in no electing members of the movement."The HSYK, which is responsible for the appointment, promotion and removal of personnel in the judiciary, was reshaped following the constitutional referendum on Sept. 12, 2010.It has been claimed that members of the Gülen Movement, by concealing their close stance to the movement, allegedly infiltrated the body in the 2010 elections. Some say their intention became apparent over the past year as prosecutors and judges began acting unconstitutionally while giving orders and delivering judgments."The restructuring of the supreme court will take place roughly within a month, so Gülenists who lost power in the HSYK wanted to give it their all while they still held control in the body," Ünlü claimed.Underscoring the significance of Avcı, who was the first to warn against alleged infiltrators in a book he published a month before being put on trial, Ünlü warned that unless Avcı's sentence is revoked, there is still a chance for an appeal – a feeling of defeat could be aroused by not removing alleged Gülenist power from key bodies of government."Avcı is an important figure when considered in terms of the 'fight against parallel structure.' He decoded their activities and infiltration in governmental bodies when Gülen was most powerful, without seeking to make any gains from sharing his experiences and assessments," Ünlü claimed.Turkish journalist and psychologist, Hilal Kaplan, called attention to the chronology of events that led to Avcı being tried, which raises doubts about the existence of the Gülen Movement in the process."Members of the parallel structure infiltrated the Supreme Court after the referendum in 2010. All of the members of the Supreme Court except its head were appointed following the referendum. He was put on trial only a month after his book was published and a week after the change in the Constitution. They knew they could infiltrate the bodies after the referendum," Kaplan claimed.