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HomeWorldEuropeTurkish court jails hundreds for life over 2016 coup attempt

Turkish court jails hundreds for life over 2016 coup attempt

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Daily US Times: A Turkish court has sentenced leaders of the 2016 attempted coup to life imprisonment, convicting hundreds of pilots, army officers and civilians over the failed effort to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

More than 250 people were killed on 15 July 2016 when rogue soldiers commandeered helicopters, warplanes and tanks to overthrow the government and take control of institutions, directed from an airbase near the capital, Ankara.

The trial of nearly 500 defendants was the highest profile of dozens of court cases targeting thousands of people accused of involvement in the coup attempt, which President Erdoğan blamed on supporters of the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Mr Gülen has denied having any role behind the coup. The defendants were accused of bombing government buildings, including parliament, and attempting to kill President Erdoğan. Many of the military commanders involved in the coup have already been sentenced to life in jail.

The spokesman for Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AK), Ömer Çelik said: “The treacherous network which rained bombs on parliament, the presidency and our people were convicted again before justice and our nation.”

He tweeted: “It is continuing to organise every kind of treachery in various countries to harm Turkey.”

“Our battle with putchist terrorism will continue,” he added.

Four ringleaders dubbed “civilian imams” over their ties to Fethullah Gülen’s network, were among 19 defendants who received 79 aggravated life sentences for charges of attempting to assassinate the president, seeking to overthrow the constitutional order and murder, the state-owned Anadolu news agency said.

F-16 pilots who carried out attacks were also among those who has got aggravated life sentences – the severest punishment in Turkish courts – meaning there is no possibility of parole.

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