Turkey court sentences 15 soldiers to life in prison over coup attempt
Iran Press TV
Wed Dec 20, 2017 04:44PM
A Turkish court has handed down life sentences to 15 soldiers for their role in a failed military coup in July 2016, which sparked a wide-scale crackdown.
The court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, on Wednesday convicted the men, most of whom officers, of "participating in an attempt to invade" Istanbul provincial offices of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The case is one of several against the people suspected of involvement in the July 15, 2016 attempt to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey witnessed the coup attempt when a faction of the Turkish military declared that the government of President Erdogan was no more in charge of the country. However, over the course of two days, the putsch was suppressed.
The Turkish government accuses the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of having orchestrated the attempted coup. Gulen, a former Erdogan ally turned arch-foe, has denied the allegation.
Turkey has called on Washington to extradite Gulen, but the demand has not been taken heed of.
Turkey, which remains in a state of emergency since the coup, has been engaged in suppressing the media and opposition groups suspected to have played a role in the failed coup.
In a post-coup crackdown, Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, policemen, teachers, and civil servants and has arrested over 55,000 others.
Many rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have denounced Ankara's heavy clampdown.
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