Istanbul court begins trial of 50 former soldiers

By Mustafa Hatipoglu, Melike Gallenkus and Huseyin Kulaoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - A court in Istanbul on Monday began hearing the trial of 50 former soldiers accused of attempting to occupy a municipality building that left 14 people martyred during last year’s defeated coup.

Among the 14 martyrs, Prof. Ilhan Varank, the older brother of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Chief Adviser Mustafa Varank, also lost his life in front of the Istanbul Mayor’s Office.

Orchestrated by FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen, the defeated coup left 250 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.

The trial of 50 former soldiers at the Istanbul’s 26th Heavy Penal Court began with the attendance of 150 lawyers representing the municipality.

The indictment of Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's also included a demand for triple aggravated life sentences for each of the 50 FETO suspects accused of attempting to "overthrow the government and the constitutional order" and "attempting to overthrow the parliament".

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