Turkey: 19 ex-soldiers stand trial over defeated coup

By Huseyin Kulaoglu, Murat Kaya and Mustafa Hatipoglu

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on Wednesday began hearing the trial of 19 dismissed personnel of the Turkish Air Force, including eight ex-soldiers who fled to Greece hours after 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 Firat and Bilal Kurugul -- fled to Greece in a stolen Black Hawk helicopter. They were dismissed from the military after they fled.

They had stolen other helicopters -- one of which was used in a bid to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Aegean resort town of Marmaris. Three others were found abandoned at Istanbul's Samandira Military Base.

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

In late October, an indictment submitted to Istanbul’s 33rd Criminal Court, sought three aggravated life sentences for all suspects on charges of attempting to overthrow the country’s constitutional order.

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 had also been 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 Fetullah Terrorist Organization (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.