ANKARA -

As Turks mark the fifth anniversary of the failed coup in mid-July 2016;

Their government continues to pursue and prosecute those accused of involvement in the coup attempt.

Over the course of 5 years, the Turkish authorities pursued - relentlessly - supporters of members of the Fethullah Gulen Organization, which is accused of being behind the coup.

A massive "purge" campaign was launched, in which tens of thousands of suspects were arrested, and others were dismissed from their jobs.

In his speech - during his participation in the activities commemorating the fifth anniversary of the martyrs of the coup attempt in the Turkish parliament in the capital, Ankara - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "July 15 is a victory for the nation and the national will and those who volunteered for democracy."

He stressed that the Turkish people on that night were able to repel the coup attempt on the one hand, and thwart an "invasion attempt" aimed at seizing Turkey, on the other.

Turkish President Erdogan in a speech after the 2016 coup attempt (Al-Jazeera)

The pursuits continue

And still waves of arrests continue until now.

Despite the decline in its pace after years of the attempted coup;

There appears to be no sign of stopping these operations, amid almost daily reports of arrest warrants being issued against defendants inside and outside the country.

On the eve of commemorating the failed attempt, Turkish prosecutors issued - last Tuesday - arrest warrants for 40 people, including military and civilians, for their suspected links to the Gülen organization, according to media reports.

At least 289 trials related to the coup attempt have been completed, while 10 other trials are continuing.

So far, courts have convicted 4,154 suspects, and imposed life sentences on more than 2,500 of them, according to Ministry of Justice data.

The lists against the main defendants included charges such as "violating the constitution", "using coercion and violence in an attempt to overthrow the parliament and the Turkish government", "attempting to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan", "causing the killing of 251 citizens" and "attempting to kill 2,735 citizens, including 177 members of the armed forces". in the security forces.

Other trials are still ongoing for a larger number of defendants, including 520 people who are being prosecuted in a case related to the activities of the Presidential Guard.

Fethullah Gulen, who is living in exile in the United States, was sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as Adil Oksuz, a professor of Sharia, whom Ankara considers the leader of the coup operations, and businessman Kemal Batmaz, accused of aiding Oksuz.

Fethullah Gulen (right) and Adil Ösköz were sentenced to life imprisonment (social networking sites)

Pursuit of fugitives

In the past years, Turkish intelligence has carried out several operations to pursue those suspected of involvement in the coup attempt, and those fleeing outside Turkey.

And Anatolia News Agency reported - in mid-April - that Turkish intelligence services returned to Turkey two alleged Gulen supporters, after their arrest in Uzbekistan.

And Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said - two days ago to reporters in Ankara - that the government's battle against the remaining elements of the Gulen movement will continue.

Akar revealed that 21,194 people have been expelled from the armed forces since the military coup, according to what Anadolu Agency reported.

At the conclusion of a major trial held in Ankara in 2019, the Turkish judiciary issued life sentences to 475 military personnel accused of involvement in the failed coup, including 26 former senior generals.

According to the indictment, the defendants led the coup attempt, and gave orders from the Akinci base to bomb public buildings, and they are mainly accused of murder and overthrowing the constitutional order.

This is the main trial of the attempted coup, and it focused on the facts that took place on the evening of July 15, 2016 at the Akinci Air Base in Ankara, which was considered the headquarters of the putschist military.

The Chief of Staff and current Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and other high-ranking officers were detained at this base, before being released on the morning of July 16, following the failed coup.

On the night of the failed coup, bombs dropped by F-16 planes targeted the Turkish parliament 3 times, as well as the roads surrounding the presidential palace, the headquarters of the special forces and the Ankara police.

This bombing led to the deaths of 68 people and more than 200 injuries in the Turkish capital, and 9 civilians were killed during the attempt to resist the putschists at the entrance to the Akinci base.

The trial of those accused of the "July 15" coup attempt in August 2017 begins in Ankara (Al Jazeera)

Imprisonment instead of death

A life sentence was handed down to 26 top generals, including the former commander of the Air Force, Akin Ozturk, Ali Yazici, a former military advisor to Erdogan, and Levent Turkan, then-assistant chief of staff, Hulusi Akar, who was appointed defense minister in July 2018.

The death penalty, which was abolished in 2004 from Turkish legislation, replaced the "aggravated" life sentence that required stricter conditions of detention.

The coup attempt - on the night of July 15-16, 2016 - resulted in the killing of 251 people and more than 2,000 wounded, according to the Turkish presidency, in addition to 24 of the coup plotters.