4 former Turkish generals jailed for 1997 'postmodern' coup

ANKARA

Four retired generals handed life sentences for their roles in Turkey’s 1997 military coup were sent to a penal institution in the capital Ankara on Thursday.

Cevat Temel Ozkaynak, Erol Ozkasnak, Fevzi Turkeri, and Yildirim Turker were transferred to the facility a day after an order by the Ankara 5th High Criminal Court.

They were among 14 defendants whose life sentences for the Feb. 28, 1997 coup, known as Turkey’s postmodern coup in Turkey, were upheld by the Court of Appeals on July 9 this year.

In a landmark decision in 2018, a Turkish court sentenced 21 high-level officials to life in prison for their roles in the 1997 coup that deposed the government of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan.