Turkey: Ex-generals jailed for life over coup attempt
December 30, 2020
A Turkish court sentences 92 defendants, including once high-ranking army officials, to life imprisonment over the 2016 coup effort.
Several trials related to the coup are still ongoing in TurkeyImage: Getty Images/G.Tan
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A court on Wednesday sentenced scores of defendants, including former generals, to life imprisonment over their alleged roles in an attempted coup in 2016.
The case, which focused on incidents at land forces headquarters in Ankara, started in 2017 and saw 132 defendants indicted.
Senior army officials were among the 92 who were sentenced to life terms — 12 of them "aggravated" terms with no chance of parole. Among the dozen were some departmental heads of land forces, the state-run news agency Anadolu reported.
More than 250 people were killed in the July 15, 2016, attempt to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During the effort, rogue soldiers took control of warplanes, helicopters and tanks and tried to take over key state institutions.
The court on Wednesday also handed out shorter sentences of up to 19 years to 28 other people. Three more defendants face an ongoing trial while 9 others were acquitted.
Hundreds of thousands detained
Charges ranged from attempted murder to membership of an armed terrorist organization.
Night of terror: The failed coup attempt turned Turkey into a war zone. More than 260 people have died. Does the country face the threat of a civil war?
Image: Getty Images/E.Ortac
Bloodshed by the Bosphorus
A blood covered resident of Istanbul stands near the Bosphorus Bridge. There were clashes between civilians and the army after the military had blocked the bridge. Government sources say that more than 260 people were killed in fighting during the coup attempt.
Image: Getty Images/B.Kilic
Tanks roll through streets
Tanks drove through several cities in the night in a completely surprise move. The Turkish military announced its takeover. The tracked vehicles flattened cars in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara, turning the country into a war zone.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T.Bozoglu
Lights out in parliament
After the bombing of parliament in Ankara, the building is in ruins. Fighter jets flew low over the capital and had the citizens panicking.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.Uzun
Who owns the Republic Monument?
The army not only closed the Bosphorus Bridge: it also occupied Taksim Square, a main transportation hub in Istanbul. The soldiers positioned themselves in front of the Republic Monument.
Image: Reuters/M. Sezer
Icon of resistance
Erdogan supporters also protested on the square. A showdown began when a soldier pointed his gun at a man. The army opened fire on the protesting crowd on the square.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U.O.Simsek/
The calm after the storm
Shirts off their backs: After the failed coup attempt, rebel soldiers laid down their arms on the Bosporus Bridge and fled.
Image: Getty Images/G.Tan
Put to flight
After the armed forces had surrendered, soldiers tried to get on a bus to flee from the angry masses.
Image: Reuters/M.Sezer
Cheering crowds
President Tayyip Erdogan returned to Istanbul. Cheering crowds received him at the airport. Erdogan announced that the rebels would pay a heavy price.
Image: Reuters/H.Aldemir
It's over!
Erdogan supporters triumph and wave the Turkish flag after the army's withdrawal. The coup attempt has failed.
Image: Getty Images/G.Tan
Posing on a tank
Bizarre souvenir: A mother took a picture of her daughter on top of a tank. The tank on the Bosphorus Bridge was surrounded by Turkish police.
Image: Reuters/M.Sezer
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About 292,000 people have been detained over alleged connections to Gulen, according to the country's interior ministry, with nearly 100,000 of them jailed pending trial.
Some 150,000 civil servants were sacked or suspended after the coup attempt. Courts have imposed more than 2,500 life sentences and the defense ministry says more than 20,000 people have been expelled from the military.
