A Turkish court on Monday sentenced 104 people to life in prison for involvement in a failed military coup in 2016, the Hurriyet newspaper said, in one of the heaviest penalties given since the attempt.
The court in the Aegean coastal town of Izmir handed 104 of 280 defendants "aggravated life" sentences, Hurriyet said, the harshest punishment possible under Turkish law as it raises the minimum time in jail required for parole.
More than 240 people, most of them unarmed civilians, were killed on the night of July 15, 2016, when a group of rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and warplanes in an attempt to attack parliament and overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The government blames the network of U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen for orchestrating the failed coup.
