Coup plotters go on trial for bid to seize Turkish Navy
A new trial on the foiled July 15 coup attempt blamed on a junta loyal to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) is set to start with pro-coup troops going to the dock at an Ankara court.
Seventy-two defendants will appear before the court inside the sprawling complex of Sincan prison where a courtroom was set up specifically for those allegedly involved in the coup. In the trial, set to continue until April 28, defendants will be tried on charges of attempt to capture the headquarters of the Turkish Naval Forces. İrfan Arabacı, a brigadier general who was the commander in charge of the staff at the headquarters, is among the defendants, who range from from all military ranks.
Defendants face three instances of life imprisonment for the coup attempt while Adm. Bülent Bostanoğlu is among the plaintiffs at the trial. They are also charged with running a criminal organization and being members of a criminal organization in connection with their links to FETÖ. These charges carry lesser prison terms.
The indictment against the defendants says they actively joined the coup attempt at the Naval Forces headquarters and some defendants helped those who joined the coup attempt to go into hiding. Suspects include officers who accepted posts offered by Peace At Home Council, the junta which tried to seize power.
The coup plotters sought to locate Bülent Bostanoğlu during the coup attempt as İrfan Arabacı entered the headquarters on July 15 night and declared himself the new commander of the Naval Forces, blocking entrance to the premises.
Bülent Bostanoğlu said in his first testimony after the putsch bid was foiled that he realized a coup was underway around 22:23 p.m. on the night. He was at a wedding party in Istanbul when he found out about the putsch bid and left the wedding venue after learning about it. He spent nine hours driving around the city, fleeing the coup plotters who sought to capture him like the army chief Hulusi Akar and other senior military brass who have been held at a military base in Ankara captured by putschists.
Prosecutors who drafted the indictment say Arabacı also had staff at several navy vessels under his command.
Hundreds of military officers are indicted in the coup attempt after a strong public resistance managed to stave off the putsch attempt. Trials in relation to the putsch started last year and are expected to continue throughout 2017.
For the coup attempt that killed 248 people, FETÖ, led by US-based former preacher Fetullah Gülen, stands accused.
Gülen is the prime suspect in all the coup trials and faces multiple life sentences. The terrorist group's leader denies links to the putsch while Turkey seeks his extradition from the United States.
An indictment unveiled recently shows Gülen's aides orchestrated the coup attempt with the terrorist group's infiltrators in the army and got Gülen's approval a few days before the putsch bid.
The indictment on Akıncı military base, which served as command center for the putschists, says Gülen would return to Turkey from his self-imposed exile from the United States and settle at the base if the coup plotters had succeeded. It names Adil Öksüz, a theology lecturer by profession who served as Gülen's point man for the infiltrators in the army, as the senior figure behind the putsch bid.
Akın Öztürk, former commander of the Turkish Air Forces and a member of the powerful Supreme Military Council, is accused of leading the pro-coup troops.
Seventy-two defendants will appear before the court inside the sprawling complex of Sincan prison where a courtroom was set up specifically for those allegedly involved in the coup. In the trial, set to continue until April 28, defendants will be tried on charges of attempt to capture the headquarters of the Turkish Naval Forces. İrfan Arabacı, a brigadier general who was the commander in charge of the staff at the headquarters, is among the defendants, who range from from all military ranks.
Defendants face three instances of life imprisonment for the coup attempt while Adm. Bülent Bostanoğlu is among the plaintiffs at the trial. They are also charged with running a criminal organization and being members of a criminal organization in connection with their links to FETÖ. These charges carry lesser prison terms.
The indictment against the defendants says they actively joined the coup attempt at the Naval Forces headquarters and some defendants helped those who joined the coup attempt to go into hiding. Suspects include officers who accepted posts offered by Peace At Home Council, the junta which tried to seize power.
The coup plotters sought to locate Bülent Bostanoğlu during the coup attempt as İrfan Arabacı entered the headquarters on July 15 night and declared himself the new commander of the Naval Forces, blocking entrance to the premises.
Bülent Bostanoğlu said in his first testimony after the putsch bid was foiled that he realized a coup was underway around 22:23 p.m. on the night. He was at a wedding party in Istanbul when he found out about the putsch bid and left the wedding venue after learning about it. He spent nine hours driving around the city, fleeing the coup plotters who sought to capture him like the army chief Hulusi Akar and other senior military brass who have been held at a military base in Ankara captured by putschists.
Prosecutors who drafted the indictment say Arabacı also had staff at several navy vessels under his command.
Hundreds of military officers are indicted in the coup attempt after a strong public resistance managed to stave off the putsch attempt. Trials in relation to the putsch started last year and are expected to continue throughout 2017.
For the coup attempt that killed 248 people, FETÖ, led by US-based former preacher Fetullah Gülen, stands accused.
Gülen is the prime suspect in all the coup trials and faces multiple life sentences. The terrorist group's leader denies links to the putsch while Turkey seeks his extradition from the United States.
An indictment unveiled recently shows Gülen's aides orchestrated the coup attempt with the terrorist group's infiltrators in the army and got Gülen's approval a few days before the putsch bid.
The indictment on Akıncı military base, which served as command center for the putschists, says Gülen would return to Turkey from his self-imposed exile from the United States and settle at the base if the coup plotters had succeeded. It names Adil Öksüz, a theology lecturer by profession who served as Gülen's point man for the infiltrators in the army, as the senior figure behind the putsch bid.
Akın Öztürk, former commander of the Turkish Air Forces and a member of the powerful Supreme Military Council, is accused of leading the pro-coup troops.