News / Turkey

Turkish court gives life sentences to 56 ex-soldiers over 2016 botched putsch

Thursday, 30 May 2019 3:40 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 30 May 2019 3:46 PM ]

Turkish soldiers involved in a coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 16, 2016. (Photo by Getty Images)

A court in Turkey has handed down aggravated life sentences to dozens of former soldiers on charges of involvement in the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which the Ankara government blames on US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Judicial sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ankara's 17th High Criminal Court passed the rulings against the ex-military personnel on Thursday.

The sources added that the court also sentenced 18 other defendants to life behind bars for their roles in Turkish Army Aviation Command during the botched putsch.

During the botched putsch, a faction of the Turkish military declared that it had seized control of the country and the government of Erdogan was no more in charge. The attempt was, however, suppressed a few hours later.

Ankara has since accused Gulen of having orchestrated the coup. The opposition figure is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to topple the government via infiltrating the country’s institutions, particularly the army, police and the judiciary.

This file picture shows Turkish cleric and opposition figure Fethullah Gulen at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, the United States. (Photo by Reuters)

Gulen has denounced the “despicable putsch” and reiterated that he had no role in it.

“Accusations against me related to the coup attempt are baseless and politically-motivated slanders,” he said in a statement.

The 78-year-old cleric has also called on Ankara to end its “witch hunt” of his followers, a move he says is aimed at “weeding out anyone it deems disloyal to President Erdogan and his regime.”

Turkish officials have frequently called on their US counterparts to extradite Gulen, but their demands have not been taken heed of.

Turkey has been engaged in suppressing the media and opposition groups suspected to have played a role in the failed coup.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of having links to Gulen and the failed coup. More than 110,000 others, including military staff, civil servants and journalists, have been sacked or suspended from work over the same accusations.

The international community and rights groups have been highly critical of the Turkish president over the massive dismissals and the crackdown.

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