Aggravated life sentences sought for coup plotters in Erdoğan’s assassination scheme
| IHA Photo


A Turkish prosecutor sought six aggravated life sentences Friday for each member of the team of assassins who had been sent to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the putsch bid on July 15.During the hearing, several records from the coup night were made public, including police radiotelephone conversations that described the scene near the vacation resort in Marmaris where Erdoğan was staying, where coup plotters were firing on civilians and raiding the resort.Two teams of pro-coup troops were dispatched to the Marmaris vacation resort where Erdoğan was staying in attempts to kill him. Their mission failed when Erdoğan fled after being informed that a coup attempt was unfolding.The indictment against the soldiers says that Fetullah Gülen, the elusive FETÖ leader, had personally approved the plan to capture or assassinate Erdoğan during the putsch attempt, as he did for other coup plans. Gülen is also believed to have ordered the seizure of strategic locations from the presidential palace to the army's headquarters.Gülen is the prime suspect in the coup case and he faces life imprisonment. However, as in several other cases where he faces terror charges, Gülen has abstained from attending. He currently resides in Pennsylvania, and Turkey is seeking his extradition from the U.S.