Turkey sentences 2016 coup plotters to life imprisonment
Sentencing is part of a trial of 497 suspects in Ankara on the presidential guard’s actions during the attempted coup.
In this file photograph, a tank crashes into a car as people take to the streets in Ankara, to resist the July 16, 2016 failed coup.
A Turkish court has handed down aggravated life sentences to several individuals for their involvement in the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey.
The judge of 19th Ankara Heavy Criminal Court sentenced former lieutenant colonel Umit Gencer to life imprisonment for "violating the constitutional order" after he made the TRT broadcaster read the "coup declaration".
Muhammet Tanju Poshor, a former colonel who ordered to take control of the TRT building, was handed down two aggravated life sentences.
The court also handed ex-major Fedakar Akca an aggravated life sentence after he led the team from the regiment to the general staff headquarters on the night, Anadolu reported.
Osman Koltarla, a former major responsible for the security of the Presidential Complex, was sentenced to life in prison.
An aggravated life sentence has tougher terms of detention and replaced the death penalty after it was abolished in 2004.
Terrorism leadership
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
The defeated coup left 248 people dead, excluding 24 putschists killed on the night.
READ MORE: Turkey blocks FETO, PKK assets
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