FETÖ members slapped with heavy jail terms

A Turkish court on Thursday handed down aggravated life sentences to scores of convicts for their involvement in the defeated 2016 coup in Turkey, according to judicial sources.

In the capital Ankara, prosecutors had recommended 141 aggravated life sentences for 17 alleged members of the so-called "Peace at Home Council," a sub-group of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

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

Former Air Force Commander Gen. Akın Öztürk -- the key officer who plotted the coup from within the military -- Ahmet Özçetin, Ali Osman Gürcan, Bilal Akyüz, Cemil Turhan, Erhan Caha, Fırat Alakuş, Hakan Evrim, Kubilay Selçuk, Mehmet Dişli, Mehmet Partigöç, Ömer Faruk Harmancık, Murat Koçyiğit, Mustafa Barış Avıalan, Orhan Yıkılkan, Sinan Sürer, Muhsin Kutsi Barış received 141 aggravated life sentences.

The prosecutors had also demanded 140 aggravated life sentences for Osman Kılıç, 62 aggravated life sentences for Muzaffer Düzenli, 30 aggravated life sentences for Özcan Karacan, 29 aggravated life sentences for Ünsal Coşkun, Mehmet Şahin and Halil Gül, and 11 aggravated life sentences for Ramazan Gözel.

Retired Maj. Gen. Ilhan Talu, Osman Kardal, Levent Türkkan and Ahmet Bican Kirkek got one aggravated life sentences each.

Speaking on the issue, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül told reporters: "The Turkish judiciary has set a great example of justice."

Gül said the trials were carried out within the framework of justice and the Turkish constitution, which the coup plotters had attempted to overthrow.

"Nobody will be able to eliminate democracy and the national will in Turkey," he added.