Voice of America
27 Nov 2020, 10:35 GMT+10
A Turkish court on Thursday handed down life sentences to more than 300 military and civilian personnel who had been on trial for three years for their roles in a failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government in July 2016.
They were among 475 people who had gone on trial in August 2017 in connection with the failed coup. The takeover attempt left more than 250 people dead and 2,000 people injured.
The incident led to a massive crackdown; 130,000 people were fired from their government jobs.
Prosecutors accused the defendants in the mass trial, including some generals and fighter jet pilots, of directing the coup and bombing key government buildings, including a section of Turkey's parliament. They were also accused of holding then-military chief Hulusi Akar, who now serves as defense minister, captive for several hours. Authorities say the defendants directed the plot from the Akinci base outside the capital, Ankara.
The defendants were also accused of working at the behest of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of masterminding the action. He has denied any wrongdoing. Turkey has sought his extradition.
The court ruled that Gulen and four others wanted by the Turkish authorities should be tried separately.
Seventy people were acquitted in the case, while some received prison sentences of between six and 16 years.
The deputy chairman of Erdogan's Justice and Development party, Leyla Sahin Usta, speaking to state-run Anadolu news agency, said the party is "experiencing the joy of seeing the defendants, who were already put on trial by the public's conscience, receive their punishment." The chairman also said the development Thursday marked "the end of the era of coups in Turkey."
Loved ones of some defendants said they were not happy with the outcome. Busra Taskiran, fiancee of a trainee F-16 pilot, told The Associated Press her boyfriend and other trainee pilots were "convicted today for life, despite not taking part in the coup attempt." She said they fought against the coup "by locking themselves in a room."
The father of another convicted trainee pilot, Alper Kalin, said the court did not consider evidence that could have proved the innocence of some trainees.
Get a daily dose of Poland Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Poland Sun.
More InformationSerie A leaders AC Milan will be without French defender Theo Hernandez and Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu for Monday's game ...
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky [Russia], January 17 (ANI/Xinhua): An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 jolted 241 km ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia at ...
France's foreign minister says Iran's continued breaches of the nuclear agreement it reached with world powers have made it urgent ...
Washington [US], January 17 (ANI): Certain metabolites may be predictive indicators for persons at risk for recurrent major depressive disorder, ...
Moscow [Russia], January 17 (ANI/Sputnik): Russia registered 23,586 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 24,092 the day ...
French-based Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen has signed a three-year deal to join Jake White's Bulls, according to Afrikaans weekly newspaper ...
A Chinese government survey ship was intercepted "running dark" without broadcasting its position via AIS (Automated Identification System) by Indonesian ...
WASHINGTON, DC The man who struck down three U.S. Capitol Police officers with a fire extinguisher during last week's storming ...
WASHINGTON, DC - A Utah man has been charged with breaking into the U.S. Capitol last week wearing a bullet-proof ...
Provided by Xinhua | &A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has killed 35 people in Indonesia, injuring 637 and displacing around 15,000 people.JAKARTA, ...
Five United Nations peacekeepers lost their lives on Wednesday, 4 in Mali and one in the Central African Republic. 4 ...
Frank Lampard hailed "outstanding" goalscorer Mason Mount after his late strike handed Chelsea a 1-0 win over 10-man Fulham.The 22-year-old ...