Ankara court accepts indictment in coup bid case

By Baris Kilic

ANKARA

A court in Ankara accepted an indictment against 481 suspects over the incidents at 4th Akinci Main Jet Base in July 2016 during the defeated coup orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Akinci -- renamed Murted after the coup bid -- is located outside Ankara and was used as a base by some pro-coup soldiers; fighter jets which took off from the base that night bombed several places in the capital, including the parliament building. Loyal Turkish military officers were also held hostage at the base.

Ankara 4th High Criminal Court accepted the indictment filed by Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office which sought harsh penalties against the 481 suspects.

The court also issued arrest warrants for 10 out of the 481 suspects, including for the FETO leader Fetullah Gulen -- who has lived in U.S. state of Pennsylvania in self-imposed exile since 1999.

A total of 21 suspects in the case were released pending trial. The rest of the total suspects are in custody awaiting trial.

The first hearing in the case will be held on Aug. 1 this year in Ankara with trials of Gulen, who is regarded as the main coup plotter, former Air Forces Commander Akin Ozturk -- seen as the main officer who plotted the coup from within the military -- and another major coup perpetrator Adil Oksuz, along with pilots who bombed state institutions during the coup bid night.

Charges against the suspects include being members of a terrorist organization, attempting to assassinate the president, trying to overthrow parliament, directing an armed terrorist group, mutiny, intentional homicide, damaging public property, endangering public safety, damaging houses of worship and offenses against civil liberty.

The Turkish government says the defeated coup, which left 249 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Gulen, who is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.