Turkey: FETO terror group members get life sentences

By Baris Kilic, Ismet Karakas and Cemil Murat Budak

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish court on Friday gave aggravated life sentences to 86 Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order in a defeated 2016 coup.

Ankara’s Heavy Penal Court no: 23 handed down the sentences in the case, concerning the defendants’ illegal actions at the Turkish Gendarmerie Command in the capital Ankara during the coup bid.

In addition to the 86 aggravated life sentences, the court also handed out life sentences to 35 others, also for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

In the same case, former Col. Erkan Oktem, who injured then-Counter-Terrorism Department head Turgut Aslan the night of the coup bid, was sentenced to nine aggravated life sentences plus 20 years for murder in the first degree and attempted murder.

FETO and its US-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, are accused of orchestrating the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara 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.

* Writing by Fahri Aksut