February 07, 2018•Update: February 07, 2018
By Tanju Ozkaya
ANKARA
A criminal court in Ankara handed down life sentences to 64 convicts Wednesday for incidents that took place at a military academy in the capital during the July 2016 defeated coup, according to a judicial source.
Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 that martyred 250 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.
The 17th Heavy Criminal Court in Ankara awarded 60 convicts to life in prison while four others were given aggravated life sentences, the judicial source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.
In total, 164 suspects had appeared before the court in the case; 100 were released, the source added.
Erdogan Kurt, Volkan Kenci, Salim Basaran and Kenan Cakar, who received aggravated life sentences, were convicted for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order by force.
Separately, 13 people were convicted and sentenced on Wednesday across Turkey for being members of FETO.
In the Black Sea province of Kastamonu, the court handed down jail terms, ranging from one year and six months to 10 years and six months, to eight convicts for being members of an armed terrorist organization.
Former police officers, teachers and civil servants were among the convicts.
In western Izmir province, the 13rd High Criminal court sentenced former judge Erdem Cagan to six years and eight months in prison for membership in an armed terrorist group.
In western Aydin province, Hasan Huseyin Ozcelik, a so-called leader of FETO in the Turkish military, was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison.
Ozcelik was convicted on the charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization.
Another criminal high court in southern Adana province sentenced Seyit Mehmet Mavus to seven years and six months in jail, and handed down the same term to former teacher Sahin Demirci over the same charge.
In Rize, a Black Sea province, a criminal high court sentenced Ramazan S. to seven years and six months in jail for being a member of an armed terrorist organization.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
