Turkey: life imprisonment for 32 ex-soldiers in connection with the failed coup of 2016
A soldier holds an anti-drone gun as security forces stand guard outside the Sincan courthouse outside Ankara on April 7, 2021, ahead of the verdict hearing in the trial of 497 defendants for the failed coup attempt of 2016. AFP - ADEM ALTAN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Turkey, an Ankara court on Wednesday April 7 sentenced around thirty former soldiers to life imprisonment.
The courts found them guilty of playing a leading role in the failed July 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Nearly 500 people appeared in this trial, while several thousand others have already been sentenced for the failed coup.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer
It was one of the last trials of the attempted putsch of July 15, 2016, which had not yet resulted in a first-instance verdict.
As with previous trials, the verdict is harsh.
Six of the 497 defendants are sentenced to irreducible life imprisonment and 32 accused to life imprisonment, according to the count by the official Anadolu agency.
106 others are sentenced to terms ranging from six to almost 17 years in prison.
Most are former soldiers.
A majority served in the presidential guard.
289 open trials
The prosecution accused them of various actions committed on the night of the abortive putsch, such as having stormed the headquarters of the armed forces or having led a raid against the public channel TRT, forcing journalists to broadcast the press release of the putschists.
Turkish courts have opened no less than 289 trials directly linked to the failed coup, and almost all of them have reached a first verdict.
Courts have so far convicted nearly 4,500 people, imposing life sentences on almost two-thirds of them.
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Also to listen: Putsch missed in Turkey: "Not a month goes by without witnessing new arrests"
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Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Justice