May 14, 2018•Update: May 14, 2018
ANKARA
Public prosecutors in Istanbul on Monday demanded aggravated life sentences for various cases linked to the night of the 2016 defeated coup.
Prosecutor Eray Akkavak sought aggravated life sentences for 52 suspects accused of attempting to occupy a municipality building that he said left 14 people martyred and 152 wounded.
The martyrs included professor Ilhan Varank, elder brother of top presidential adviser Mustafa Varank.
Varnak embraced martyrdom in front of the mayor office in Istanbul.
The July 15, 2016 defeated coup orchestrated by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen left 250 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.
In the ongoing trial at the 26th Istanbul High Criminal Court, the suspects face several charges including attempting to "overthrow the government and the constitutional order" and "attempting to overthrow the parliament".
Turkey also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Another public prosecutor at Istanbul’s 23rd Heavy Penal Court sought aggravated life sentences for 36 suspects linked to the events which took place on the night of the defeated coup.
The suspects were accused of attempting to abolish the constitutional order.
Eleven people were injured when pro-coup soldiers tried to take control of Istanbul's Kartal Bridge and Samandira toll booth, the indictment against the former officers read.
Separately, the case continued for suspects who were allegedly involved in an attempt to occupy Istanbul Police Headquarters as well as violence on the city’s Esenler Birlik Bridge, where five people were martyred.
The prosecutor seeks aggravated life sentences for 21 suspects.
