Some 62 members of the Turkish Military Forces (TSK) face aggravated life terms in the first indictment drafted by prosecutors in Istanbul against military officers involved in the July 15 coup attempt blamed on the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). The indictment, presented to a court following its approval by the chief prosecutor's office Monday, pressed charges against soldiers involved in an attempted takeover of the Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side of Istanbul.The unidentified defendants from different ranks of the armed forces, include 28 arrested for the putsch attempt. They are charged with "attempt to overthrow constitutional order and replace it with another order by force," "attempt to remove the parliament or to disrupt its conduct by force," and "attempt to overthrow the government or to disrupt it by force." The charges, usually brought against terror suspects and those involved in coups, can carry lifetime imprisonment in solitary confinement.The prosecutors also ask for lesser sentences of up to 15 years for some suspects for "membership of a terrorist group" and "aiding and abetting a terrorist group." The indictment will be handled by the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul that had presided over the legal proceeding over cases related to another coup, the so-called "postmodern coup" of 1997 that saw top military brass forcing the democratically elected government to resign.The prosecutors detailed in the indictment, how pro-coup troops prepared to take over the airport that serves as main aviation hub on Istanbul's Asian side, at the Maltepe military base and their meeting before the coup.According to the indictment, pro-coup troops held separate meetings on July 12, 13, and 14 at the Second Armored Brigade Command in Maltepe. Among those attending the meeting were Gen. Osman Aydoğdu, Gen. Eyüp Gürler, Col. Mürsel Çıkrıkçı and Col. Uzay Şahin. Çıkrıkçı was the commander of a historic military high school in Istanbul and forced cadets at the school to join the putschists, according to testimonies given by the cadets.Çıkrıkçı could also be hear in a voice recording that emerged after the coup attempt where he ordered his subordinates to fire upon unarmed civilians who had taken to the streets to foil the coup.Uzay Şahin was a commander for military units in the Trakya region west of Istanbul and has been known for his offer to send 20,000 troops from his base to Istanbul to help the pro-coup forces in an online messaging group.The prosecutors also presented a detailed account of FETÖ in the indictment and touched upon other cases the group, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, were involved in or plotted. The cases range from a plot to imprison a religious group critical of Gülenists by forging evidence against them through prosecutors, judges and police loyal to FETÖ, to illegal wiretapping.FETÖ has also been blamed for attempting to gain access to confidential information about the infamous "MIT Trucks" case, where trucks belonging to the country's intelligence agency were stormed by FETÖ-linked officers and prosecutors.Lastly, the prosecutors also detailed two previous coup attempts by FETÖ in Dec. 2013 that led to the designation of the group as "a national threat," as well as the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish Armenian journalist who was killed in 2007. The plot to kill Dink by ultranationalists was allegedly covered up by FETÖ-linked intelligence officers.At least 246 people were killed during the July 15 putsch attempt that saw an unprecedented public resistance against coup plotters. By the morning of July 16, the coup was quelled as police, military staff opposing the coup and unarmed civilians put on a strong fight to stop the troops loyal to FETÖ.The Turkish public learned of the coup in Istanbul, Turkey's most populated city that lies on a strategic location between Asia and Europe, when images of soldiers blocking a major bridge in the city flashed on TV screens. Soon, people heeding the calls by the country's leaders to oppose the coup, flooded the streets and several were killed on the bridge that was blocked by soldiers as putschists indiscriminately opened fire on the flag-waving crowd opposing them.Last month, an Istanbul court accepted the first indictment on the coup attempt in which 29 police officers were accused of aiding pro-coup forces. The police officers face lifetime imprisonment for helping the pro-coup soldiers and efforts to break public resistance. Defendants disobeyed orders to stop the coup plotters and some even cheered it, the indictment said.In their attempt to capture strategic locations, coup plotters also tried to take control of the Atatürk international airport on the European side of Istanbul, but again, they failed to do so after police and the public occupied the place.Thousands of military officers with links to FETÖ have been arrested and dismissed from service following the coup attempt. Authorities say trials on the coup will start next year while a large courthouse complex is under construction in Ankara to house hundreds who will stand trial on coup charges.In Ankara, the prosecutors has also drafted indictments against troops, who had stormed the headquarters of an elite military force, the headquarters of the Turkish Armed Forces and bombed the Turkish parliament and the presidential palace. Three indictments await the approval of the chief prosecutor's office in Ankara.