Dozens of people sentenced to life imprisonment in Turkish trial of participants in attempted coup in 2016
On November 26, the Turkish court sentenced dozens of military commanders and pilots who had participated in the 2016 coup attempt to life imprisonment.
According to Al Jazeera on the 26th, citing Turkish Anadolu News Agency, nearly 500 defendants, including Turkish army commanders and pilots, were accused of conducting a coup at the Akenti Air Base near the capital Ankara on July 15, 2016. , Dozens of people were sentenced to life imprisonment.
In this attempted coup in 2016, some soldiers who broke away from command seized several fighter planes, helicopters and tanks in an attempt to control some key state institutions. The coup resulted in more than 250 deaths.
On the night of the coup, the then Chief of Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, the current Minister of Defense Hulusi Akka, and other commanders were held hostage at Akenti Air Base for several hours.
Akin Ozturk, former Turkish air force commander, and some other members of Akenci Air Base were accused of launching a coup, bombing government buildings and attempting to kill President Erdogan.
Al Jazeera reported that in addition to former military members, 10 civilians were being tried. The prosecutor said that these civilians also appeared at the Akenzi Air Force Base on the night of the coup, and they relayed orders to military personnel on behalf of Gulen, the man behind the coup.
Gulen, currently living in the United States, is the leader of Turkey’s Islam. The Turkish government believes that the attempted political move in 2016 was initiated by the “Gulen Movement” composed of Gulen and its supporters.
The United States has consistently rejected Turkey’s request for the extradition of Gulen, who was also one of the six defendants absent from the trial.
