Hundreds go on trial for failed coup in Turkey
Turkish Gendarmerie escort defendants Akin Ozturk (2L) and others involved in last Julys attempted coup in Turkey as they leave the prison where they are being held, ahead of their trial in Ankara, on May 22, 2017.
The trial opened on May 22, 2017 of more than 220 suspects, including over two dozen former Turkish generals, accused of being among the ringleaders of the attempted coup last year aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)
More than 200 suspects have gone on trial accused of plotting and orchestrating last year’s failed coup in Turkey.
The defendants were paraded into a purpose-built courthouse one by one, and each suspect was handcuffed and flanked by two security guards.
They were surrounded by dozens of protesters who waved Turkish flags and brandished signs demanding they receive the death penalty.
High-ranking soldiers, including the former head of Turkey’s air force, are among those accused of attempting to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey has blamed US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for masterminding the coup, and he is among nine suspects who are not in custody.
More than 240 people were killed when rogue soldiers in warplanes and tanks tried to seize power on 15 July 2016.
As well as being charged with their deaths, the suspects are reportedly accused of “attempting to kill 2,735 citizens”.
One protester outside the courthouse, Mehmet Yaman, said: “I am here to show that I stand by my people, my flag and my religion.
“I am here to show to the terrorists that we will stand firm. I want them sentenced to death in a fair trial, I want the traitors of this country to be punished.”
Many trials are currently being held across Turkey to judge the coup suspects, in what has become the biggest legal process in the country’s modern history.
More than 47,000 people have been arrested on suspicion of links to the Gulen movement in an unprecedented crackdown under a state of emergency imposed by Mr Erdogan following the coup.
Mr Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999, strongly denies having any role in the rebellion.
