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In 2016, a military coup failed in Turkey; now hundreds of defendants have been convicted. The judges ruled 337 times to life imprisonment, sometimes under more severe conditions.
More than four years after the failed coup attempt in Turkey, a court in the capital Ankara has sentenced hundreds of suspects to life in prison. A total of 475 defendants had to respond in the years of the process.
337 defendants must go to prison for life. They have been convicted, among others, on charges of attempted coup, assassination of the president and intentional homicide. In some cases, judges handed down sentences of up to 79 times life in harsher conditions. This increase in life sentences was introduced in Turkey in 2004 and replaced the death penalty.
Another 60 defendants also received prison terms and 75 were acquitted. The process started in early August 2017.
Among those convicted are high-ranking military personnel, pilots, but also civilians, according to the state news agency Anadolu. In 2016, they were all involved in the attempted coup around Akinci Air Force Base.
250 dead, more than 2000 injured
On the night of July 15, 2016, military personnel arrested then-Chief of Staff and now Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and other commanders in Akinci as F-16 fighter jets bombarded parliament and government buildings. Clashes broke out overnight in both Ankara and Istanbul. The coup plotters used tanks and also fired at civilians. Around 250 people died, according to Turkish authorities. In addition, more than 2,000 people were injured.
However, the coup attempt failed when tens of thousands of people opposed the coup plotters in the streets. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for popular resistance to the coup.
300,000 people arrested
The Turkish government blames the movement of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen for the coup attempt. He has lived in exile in the United States since 1999 and denies the accusations. So far, Turkey has asked for his extradition in vain. Gülen is also accused and his trial has been interrupted.
Over the course of the night of the coup there were countless proceedings in Turkey. Almost 300,000 people were arrested for being in contact with the Gülen movement, according to Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu. The verdict was for life around 2,500 times.
