A Turkish court today sentenced 104 former soldiers to life in prison, found guilty of involvement in the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016, Turkish media reported.
The court in Izmir sentenced the alleged coup plotters to the most severe punishment under Turkish law, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Among the convicted soldiers are two former generals and three former admirals, the media stated, adding that there are numerous key military facilities in the Izmir region, including the Jigli airport, where a group of coup plotters accused of planning Erdogan's assassination gathered on the night of the coup. .
Turkish authorities blame preacher Fethullah Gulen and his organization for the coup. Gulen, who lives in the US, denies any involvement.
An admiral and a colonel, who confessed to the crimes they were accused of and helped the authorities uncover alleged Gulenists in the army, avoided the harshest punishment but received just under 17 years in prison.
20 former soldiers were sentenced to 21 years, while 31 will spend 10,5 years in prison, the media reports.
After the failed coup, the Turkish authorities launched a campaign of retaliation, hunting down alleged Gulen supporters in the army and state institutions.
In addition to suspected Gulenists, the purges also affected Erdogan's political opponents, critical media and human rights activists.
The trials launched after the coup are unprecedented in Turkey, and more than 55.000 people ended up in prison, of which almost 7.500 were soldiers.
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