Turkey to conclude most of cases related to July 15 coup bid: Minister Gül
"One or two court cases, including Akinci or those with a high number of defendants, could be delayed. But, except for these, we hope that all coup cases be concluded by the end of the year," Turkish Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül was quoted as saying by Anadolu in the north-western province of Sakarya.
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 12:00 | 06 September 2018
- Modified Date: 02:05 | 06 September 2018
Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said on Thursday that Turkey expects to conclude the majority of the more than 100 ongoing court cases related to a failed July 15 coup bid, according to state news agency Anadolu.
"One or two court cases, including Akıncı or those with a high number of defendants, could be delayed. But, except for these, we hope that all coup cases be concluded by the end of the year," Gül was quoted as saying by Anadolu in the north-western province of Sakarya.
The Akıncı airbase in Ankara is alleged to have been a nerve centre of the putschists on July 15, 2016. Forty-five out of a total of 486 suspects on trial in the Akıncı case face 303 life sentences if found guilty, according to Anadolu.
Turkey blames US-based FETO ringleader Fetullah Gulen for orchestrating the abortive putsch which left more than 250 people martyred.
"There is a very strong, very legitimate and a very large expectation in the public to swiftly bring the July 15 treason to account," Gul said.
In June, Gul said 171 coup-related cases out of a total 287 were concluded where 1,509 people were sentenced to life in prison, according to Turkey's state-run news agency.