18 FETÖ members jailed for killing soldier Halisdemir during coup attempt
ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency
The 14th High Criminal Court in the Turkish capital Ankara handed down aggravated life sentences to 18 Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) convicts for their role in the killing of officer Ömer Halisdemir during the July 2016 coup attempt, a judicial source said on April 19.
Halisdemir was killed on the night of the coup attempt after he shot dead senior coup plotter Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi.
Terzi was shot in the head after he attempted to seize control of the Special Forces Command in Ankara. Pro-coup soldiers later killed Halisdemir.
Followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, once a close ally of the Turkish government but now outlawed and referred to by the acronym FETÖ, are widely believed to have carried out the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, which left 250 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.
