337 military officers and others have been given life sentences by a court in Turkey, in one of the biggest trials linked to the 2016 coup attempt.
Air force pilots and army commanders were among the nearly 500 defendants accused of trying to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
They allegedly directed the plot from the Akinci air base near Ankara.
President Erdogan says US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen masterminded the plot, which led to mass arrests.
Fethullah Gulen has denied any involvement in the attempted coup in July 2016 that killed 251 people and injured more than 2,000. Presidnet Erdogan was on vacation at the time at a resort.
Thousands of civilians rallied in support of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a night of turmoil, confronting rogue soldiers and preventing the plotters from seizing power.
The trial began in August 2017, and the charges included seeking to kill President Erdogan and seize key state institutions. Turkey’s biggest court – in Sincan near Ankara – was packed for the verdicts.
Officers who conspired against President Erdogan seized aircraft at the Akinci base, taking then chief of staff Gen Hulusi Akar and some other officers hostage.
Former air force commander Akin Ozturk was jailed for life last year for his role in the plot.
The indictment states that 25 pilots in F-16s bombed targets in Ankara, including parliament, which was hit three times, as well as key security buildings. The bombing killed 68 people in Ankara and injured more than 200.
Twenty-five of those in the dock were generals and 10 were civilians.
More than 10 of the military officers – including F-16 fighter pilots – and four civilians got 79 “aggravated” life sentences each. The “aggravated” sentence requires harsher prison terms than for a normal life sentence.
Six were put on trial in absentia, including Fethullah Gulen and Adil Oksuz, a theology lecturer accused of being a key coordinator in the coup plot.
Among those receiving “aggravated” life terms was businessman Kemal Batmaz, accused of assisting Adil Oksuz.
The Hizmet movement led by Fethullah Gulen has been branded a “terrorist” organization by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was once an ally of the president, but since the coup attempt the 79-year-old cleric has remained a fugitive in Pennsylvania and Turkey wants his extradition.
President Erdogan carried out a sweeping purge of state institutions after the plot, sacking or suspending more than 100,000 public sector employees, including teachers and judges, who were accused of links to Fethullah Gulen.
There have been many trials of alleged plotters and courts have issued more than 2,500 life sentences.
More than 100 former officers have been sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, state media report.
The 104 ex-military officers were given “aggravated life sentences”, which come with tougher terms than a normal life sentence.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously said he backed reintroducing the death penalty for coup plotters.
The failed coup to overthrow him left at least 260 dead and 2,200 injured on July 15, 2016.
The Turkish government has since led a crackdown on alleged coup supporters, with the dismissal of more than 150,000 state employees and the arrest of some 50,000 people.
Of the 280 ex-military people on trial, the court in Izmir also served lesser sentences to a further 52 defendants.
The Izmir court gave 21 people 20 years in prison for “assisting the assassination of the president”, while 31 others were sentenced to between seven and 11 years for “membership of a terrorist organization”, state news agency Anadolu reported.
President Erdogan had backed reintroducing the death penalty for coup plotters. He also said they should wear Guantanamo Bay-style uniforms. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004.
The Turkish authorities accused a movement loyal to the Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, of organizing the 2016 plot.
Fethullah Gulen, who has been in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999, denies any involvement, and Washington has so far resisted calls from the Turkish authorities to extradite him.
Rebel soldiers had attempted to overthrow the government overnight and plotters tried to detain Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he holidayed in an Aegean resort.
However, he had left 15 minutes before and the coup was thwarted by civilians and soldiers loyal to the president.
A purge followed the coup, in which thousands of public employees from police officers to teachers were sacked or arrested under suspicion of stirring up dissent.
Recep tayyip Erdogan’s critics say he is using the purge to stifle political dissent.
Over 50,000 people have been detained, fired or suspended from their jobs by Turkey’s government in the wake of last week’s failed coup.
The purge of those deemed disloyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan widened on July 19 to include teachers, university deans and the media.
According to the government, they are allied to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who denies claims he directed the uprising.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Fethullah Gulen led a “terrorist organization”.
“We will dig them up by their roots,” the prime minister told parliament.
Turkey is pressing the US to extradite Fethullah Gulen and the issue was raised during a phone call between President Barack Obama and President Erdogan on July 19, the White House said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said a decision on whether or not to extradite would be made under a treaty between the two countries.
A Turkish government spokesman suggested that the US should be able to extradite Fethullah Gulen “on grounds of suspicion” rather than requiring facts of the case against him.
“There is very strong suspicion for his [Fethullah Gulen’s] involvement in this coup attempt. So this is sufficient grounds,” said spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.
For his part, the preacher says claims he was behind the coup attempt are “ridiculous”.
“I urge the US government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas,” Fethullah Gulen said in a statement.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to chair meetings of his national security council and cabinet in the capital, Ankara, on July 20, after returning to the city for the first time since the attempted coup.
The meeting will be Erdogan’s first chance since the coup attempt to sit and talk in person with all key members of the government and armed forces.
His task is to re-impose stability amid the turmoil and to reassure the country and Turkey’s allies abroad that he is not embarking on a witch-hunt against his many critics.
The Pentagon said that talks also took place on July 19 between Defense Secretary Ash Carter and his Turkish counterpart, regarding the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.
The base is used by the US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government crackdown widened on July 19 to include the education sector and government departments.
According to Turkish media,15,200 teachers and other education staff had been sacked; 1,577 university deans were ordered to resign; 8,777 interior ministry workers were dismissed; 1,500 staff in the finance ministry had been fired; 257 people working in the prime minister’s office were sacked.
Turkish media regulation body also revoked the licenses of 24 radio and TV channels accused of links to Fethullah Gulen.
The news came on top of the arrests of more than 6,000 military personal and the sackings of nearly 9,000 police officers. About 3,000 judges have also been suspended.
The removal of thousands of officials has alarmed international observers, with the UN urging Turkey to uphold the rule of law and defend human rights.
A senior German official said on July 19 that “a deep split” had opened in Turkey, and he feared the divisions would cause unrest among Germany’s large Turkish community.
“The danger of an escalation in violence between Erdogan supporters and opponents has also risen in Germany,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.
President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz has accused Turkey of carrying out “revenge” against its opponents and critics.
He also said a debate around restoring the death penalty was “deeply worrying”. The EU has warned such a move would end talks over Turkey joining the bloc.
According to official figures, last week’s coup attempt left 232 people dead and 1,541 wounded.
Up to 8,000 police officers have been suspended in Turkey, reportedly on suspicion of having links to the failed coup attempt at the weekend, officials say.
Some 6,000 members of the judiciary and military, including generals, have been detained in connection with the coup.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to purge state bodies of the “virus” that caused the revolt.
The EU’s foreign policy chief says the rule of law in Turkey needs protection.
Photo Getty Images
The government claims cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the plot.
Fethullah Gulen lives in the US and strongly denies any involvement.
Turkish state media reported on July 18 that more than 100 generals and admirals had been detained in raids across the country.
Eight Turkish military officers who fled to Greece by helicopter are appearing in court in the Greek border city of Alexandropouli charged with entering the country illegally.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a crowd on July 17 that Turkey would consider reinstating the death penalty.
Capital punishment was abolished in 2004 as part of Turkey’s bid to join the EU. Nobody has been executed in the country since 1984.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, was speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers and Secretary of State John Kerry in Brussels, at which the events in Turkey are likely to be high on the agenda.
Federica Mogherini said there would be no excuse for any steps that would take Turkey away from the rule of law and that the foreign ministers would be sending a “strong message” on that.
Turkey’s PM Binali Yildirim has announced that some 2,839 soldiers, including high-ranking officers, have been arrested after an attempted coup that is now over.
At least 161 civilians have been killed and other 1,440 wounded during clashes.
Those held include two army generals, Turkish media say.
Explosions and firing were heard in key cities on Friday night, July 15, and thousands heeded a call by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to rise up against the coup-plotters.
It is unclear who was behind the coup.
The authorities also said 104 suspected coup-plotters had also been killed.
Some 2,745 Turkish judges have also been dismissed in the wake of the coup, state media say.
They are reported to include a member of Turkey’s top court.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed a “parallel structure” – a reference to Fethullah Gulen, a powerful but reclusive US-based Muslim cleric whom he accuses of fomenting unrest.
Fethullah Gulen has rejected any suggestion of links to what happened, saying he condemned “in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey”.
The Turkish government wants Fethullah Gulen’s extradition.
Events began on July 15 as tanks took up positions on two of the bridges over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, blocking traffic. Troops were seen on the streets and low-flying military jets were filmed over Ankara.
Shortly after, an army faction issued a statement that a “peace council” was running the country, and it had launched the coup “to ensure and restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms”.
President Recep Tyyip Erdogan, then in the south-west resort of Marmaris, made a TV address via his mobile phone, urging people to take to the streets to oppose the uprising.
After flying to Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “What is being perpetrated is a treason and a rebellion. They will pay a heavy price.”
During the violence, the Turkish parliament and presidential buildings in Ankara were attacked. Gunfire was also heard outside Istanbul police headquarters and tanks were said to be stationed outside Istanbul airport.
Broadcaster CNN Turk was temporarily taken off air after soldiers entered the building and tried to take it over. CNN Turk later tweeted a photo of soldiers being arrested by police.
There were reports of fierce clashes in Taksim Square in central Istanbul, and gunfire and explosions were heard near the square. One of the helicopters being flown by rebels was reportedly shot down by government troops in Ankara.
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