Almost 500 to stand trial
ANKARA: Nearly 500 people arrested in the crackdown following the failed July 15, 2016, coup in Turkey go on trial accused of conspiring to oust the government from an air base seen as the plotters’ hub.
A total of 486 suspects will go on trial in a purpose-built courtroom outside Ankara, charged with crimes ranging from murder, violating the constitution and attempting to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.
They are accused of running the coup bid from the Akinci air base northwest of the capital, which the authorities regard as the headquarters of the plotters where orders were sent out for fighter jets to bomb parliament.
Almost all the suspects – a total of 461 individuals – are held in custody while seven are still on the run and the remainder charged but not in jail.
Among the main suspects named in the indictment but still on the run is US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of ordering the attempted July 15 putsch.
Gulen, who is based in a secluded compound in the US state of Pennsylvania, strongly denies the charges.
Those held in custody include former air force chief Akin Ozturk who, like several suspects, is also on trial in another case related to the coup bid.
Another chief suspect is theology lecturer Adil Oksuz, whom Turkish officials accuse of being the so-called “imam” of the plot by coordinating the action on the ground in Turkey with Gulen.
Businessman Kemal Batmaz is