Turkey: 19 ex-soldiers indicted over defeated coup

By Huseyin Kulaoglu, Murat Kaya and Mustafa Hatipoglu

ISTANBUL

A court on Friday indicted 19 former personnel of Turkish Air Force, including eight ex-soldiers who fled to Greece hours after the last year’s coup bid was defeated, according to a judicial official.

The former soldiers -- Ahmet Guzel, Gencay Boyuk, Feridun Coban, Abdullah Yetik, Ugur Ucan, Suleyman Ozkaynakci, Mesut Firatand, Bilal Kurugul -- fled to Greece in a stolen Black Hawk helicopter. They were dismissed from the military after they fled.

One of the helicopters was used in a bid to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Aegean resort town of Marmaris and another to fly to Greece. Three others were found abandoned at Samandira.

Turkey has repeatedly requested the extradition of the ex-soldiers.

The indictment, submitted to Istanbul’s 33rd Criminal Court, seeks three aggravated life sentences for all suspects on charges of attempting to overthrow the country’s constitutional order and parliament, said the official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Prosecutors also sought up to 15 years behind bars for each suspect for being a member of an armed terrorist organization and up to 30 years for six of the suspects on charges of attempted murder.

They also recommended aggravated life sentences for the ex-soldiers, whom arrest warrants in absentia were issued, for killings on the night of the defeated coup.

Up to 15 years in prison is also sought for the ex-soldiers on charges of fleeing to another country and deliberately damaging and stealing military materials.

Thousands of defendants in such cases are accused of being members of FETO, which attempted to overthrow the government and the country’s constitutional order and commit murder on the night of July 15, 2016.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup bid, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.