News / Turkey

Turkey launches trial of some 500 coup suspects

Tuesday, 01 August 2017 9:26 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 August 2017 9:27 AM ]

Turkish army officers forcibly carry Haldun Gulmez — a former army special forces lieutenant accused of attempting to kill Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of a failed coup attempt — to a court in Mugla, southern Turkey, July 17, 2017. (Photo by AP)

Turkey has launched the trial of about 500 individuals accused of leading a failed coup attempt last year, in the largest legal process in the country’s modern history.

Some 486 suspects, including a number of generals and F-16 pilots, were to stand trial in a purpose-built courtroom outside Ankara on Tuesday.

The suspects are accused of leading the failed coup attempt from the Akinci air base in Ankara and conducting airstrikes on key government buildings in the capital, including the parliament.

Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom Ankara blames for the coup, is among the main suspects. The US-based cleric will be tried in absentia. He has rejected Ankara’s allegations.

Turkey’s former air force commander Akin Ozturk is among the defendants.

Many of the accused face life sentence for crimes against the state.

A total of 461 of the suspects are in custody.

Turkey has launched a huge crackdown since the coup attempt. More than 50,000 people have so far been jailed and over 150,000, including judges, teachers, police forces, and other state servants have been dismissed or suspended in the controversial purge.

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