100 acquitted, 64 get life sentences in Ankara over Turkey’s coup attempt

ANKARA

A criminal court in Ankara on Feb. 7 acquitted 100 people and handed down life sentences to 64 others for incidents that took place at the Turkish Military Academy in Ankara during the July 2016 coup attempt.

The 17th Heavy Criminal Court in Ankara gave 60 convicts regular life sentences, while four others were given aggravated life sentences, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

In total, 164 suspects appeared before the court in the case and 100 were released.

Erdoğan Kurt, Volkan Kenci, Salim Başaran and Kenan Çakar, who received aggravated life sentences, were charged with “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order by force.”

The Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) is widely believed to have orchestrated the coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which killed 250 people and injured nearly 2,200.

Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the government through the infiltration of institutions, particularly the military, the police and the justice system.