Coup plotter commander receives life sentence

KIRKLARELİ-Anadolu Agency

Latif Çiçek, a coup plotter and then-lieutenant colonel who tried to bring armored military vehicles from Turkey's northwestern Kırklareli province to Istanbul to join the coup attempt in 2016, received an aggravated life sentence.

Çiçek was the battalion commander of the 65th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Kırklareli.

During the coup attempt, he acted in unison with another coup plotter, then-Brig. Gen. Cemalettin Doğan.

According to the chief public prosecutor's office, Çiçek tried to go to Istanbul to support the coup attempt with a group of soldiers under his command and some armored military vehicles.

When his convoy arrived at the entrance of the city, it was stopped by some civilians.

He was informed about the coup attempt and asked to go back to the barrack with his convoy, but Çiçek rejected the request, threatening the civilians to death.

The court found him guilty of violation of constitutional order and sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETOÖof being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.