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Image posted, AFP
The defendants were taken to a parade at the start of the trial in 2017
A Turkish court sentenced 337 military officers and others to life imprisonment in one of the largest trials related to the 2016 coup attempt.
Air force pilots and army commanders were among the nearly 500 people accused of trying to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
They allegedly led the plot from Akinci Air Force Base, near Ankara.
Erdogan says that the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen planned the plot that led to the mass arrests.
Gülen denied any involvement in the coup attempt, which took place in July 2016, which killed 251 people and injured more than 2,000. Erdogan was on vacation at the time at a resort.
Image posted, AFP
Erdogan’s supporters helped thwart the coup
Thousands of civilians rallied in support of Erdogan on a night of unrest, clashing with rebel soldiers and preventing the conspirators from taking power.
The trial began in August 2017 and the charges included attempting to assassinate President Erdogan and seize key state institutions. Turkey’s largest court, located in Senkan, near Ankara, was packed with people who wanted to attend the verdicts.
The officers who had conspired against Erdogan took a plane into the Akinci base and took hostage the then chief of staff, General Hulusi Akar, and some other officers.
Former air force commander Akin Ozturk was sentenced to life in prison last year for his role in the plot.
The indictment states that 25 F-16 pilots bombed targets in Ankara, including Parliament, which was hit three times, in addition to key security buildings. The bombing killed 68 people in Ankara and injured more than 200.
There were 25 generals and 10 civilians in the dock.
More than 10 army officers, including F-16 fighter pilots and four civilians, received 79 “aggravating” life sentences each. “Aggravating” sentences include more severe prison sentences than the normal life sentence.
Six people were tried in absentia, including Gülen and Adel Oksuz, a theology professor accused of being the main coordinator of the coup plot.
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The authorities took strict security measures in preparation for the trial.
Businessman Kamal Batmaz, who was among those who received “harsh” life sentences, was accused of helping Adel Oksuz.
Erdogan classified the “Hizmet” movement led by Gülen as a “terrorist” organization. Gulen was once an ally of the president, but since the coup attempt, the 79-year-old cleric has been on the run in Pennsylvania and Turkey is seeking his extradition.
Erdogan carried out a large-scale purge of state institutions after the conspiracy, firing or arresting more than 100,000 public sector employees, including professors and judges accused of having ties to Gülen.
There were several trials for alleged intellectual authors and the courts imposed more than 2,500 life sentences.
