Based at the Akinci air base, the defendants were accused of directing the coup and bombing government buildings, including parliament, and attempting to kill Erdogan. F-16 pilots who carried out attacks were also among those given aggravated life sentences - the severest punishment in Turkish courts - meaning there is no possibility of parole. Most of the other defendants also received life sentences, while 19 were jailed for aiding the coup and 41 for terrorist group membership. Some 292,000 people have been detained over alleged links to Gulen, nearly 100,000 of them jailed pending trial, Anadolu cited Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu as saying. Courts have handed down more than 2,500 life sentences.

Source: bd News24 November 26, 2020 13:41 UTC