Calgary imam Davud Hanci jailed after failed Turkish coup must wait until May for court appearance

A Calgary man rounded up in the wake of a failed coup in Turkey will spend more time in prison after his court appearance was delayed until May 3. 

Davud Hanci, who has dual Canadian and Turkish citizenship, was accused of being a leader in the failed attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government on July 15, 2016. Hanci has been locked up since July and was supposed to appear in court on Wednesday.

CBC News could not confirm specifically what charges had been laid against Hanci.

• Davud Hanci, Calgary man detained over Turkey coup plot, is innocent, family and friends say
• Calgary imam's wife 'tortured' by his imprisonment in Turkey

However, Hanci's brother-in-law Selman Durmus told CBC News on Wednesday that all mention of Hanci's involvement in the coup has been dropped.

"When he was first detained, the accusations of him plotting the coup and stuff like that, those are no longer valid, they don't even mention it in court, it's not mentioned anymore," said Durmus.

Durmus says the only reason Hanci is still being held is because of alleged ties to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by the increasingly authoritarian Turkish regime of masterminding the attempted coup.

Gulen denies he was involved in the coup attempt, while Durmus says Hanci has no connection to the Gulen movement.

Before Hanci's arrest while visiting family in Turkey last July, he had been living with his wife and children in Calgary and working as an imam for Correctional Service Canada and the Alberta correctional services.

Masked witness appeared in court, Durmus says

He is being held at a prison outside of Istanbul and was supposed to appear Wednesday via video link at a court in Trabzon, in Turkey's Black Sea region, where he was arrested.

According to Durmus, one man did appear in court via video Wednesday: a secret witness who alleges he saw Hanci collecting money and leading prayers on behalf of the Gulen movement. 

"He appeared in court today by video conference wearing a mask and they changed his voice so you can't tell who he is," said Durmus. 

He said the family has learned the identity of the witness by tracking his phone number — revealed on a public document related to the case — back to a man who once lived in Calgary. 

"So we found out who he is and we're actually going to sue him here in Canada because he's a dual citizen of Canadian and Turkey as well," said Durmus.

He won't reveal the man's name at this time, so CBC News is unable to verify Durmus' claims. 

'I'm trying to stay strong,' wife says

The family isn't sure what will happen when Hanci does appear in court — whether he could be detained longer, sentenced or set free with his case thrown out. 

"It is so overwhelming ... but I'm trying to stay strong," said his wife, Rumeysa Hanci, on Monday.

She moved from Calgary to Toronto with her two sons following Davud's arrest to be closer to family. 

Hanci went to Turkey with his family on July 7 to visit his ailing father and was swept up in the crackdown following the attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Thousands of people, including journalists, were rounded up in the aftermath.

• Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man Erdogan blames for coup attempt in Turkey?
• Erdogan slams 'vulgar, worthless' headline, promises punishment

Some reports peg the number of Turkish citizens arrested or ousted from their jobs at more than 130,000 over the past seven months. 

In November, a Global Affairs spokesperson said Canadian consular officials in Turkey "have been in contact with local authorities since the beginning and are in regular contact with the Canadian citizen's family to provide consular assistance."