Turkey jails 32 former soldiers for life over failed 2016 coup attempt
- The failed coup included a raid on Turkey’s main state television broadcaster, whose newscaster was forced to read out a statement from the military junta leaders
- Turkey accuses US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the failed coup, a claim he has repeatedly denied
A Turkish court on Wednesday jailed 32 former soldiers for life in a mass trial involving nearly 500 military defendants implicated in a failed 2016 bid to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In one of the last mammoth trials stemming from a bloody night that turned Erdogan on a more authoritarian course and set off a wave of arrests that continue to this day, an Ankara court heard evidence against the presidential guard.
The putsch attempt included a raid on Turkey’s main state television broadcaster, whose newscaster was forced to read out a statement from the military junta leaders.
Although both the presidential palace and the parliament building were bombed, Erdogan escaped capture because he was on holiday in a Turkish seaside resort town.
The private DHA and state Anadolu new agencies said 32 suspects received life terms.
A lawyer for the president initially told AFP 22 suspects had received life sentences before a more detailed verdict was reported by the agencies later on Wednesday.