The Turkish authorities have convicted 131 alleged participants of the attempted coup of 2016, including former Istanbul police intelligence chief Ali Fuat Yilmazer and Ramazan Akyurek, the head of the police's domestic intelligence branch, Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) The Turkish authorities have convicted 131 alleged participants of the attempted coup of 2016, including former Istanbul police intelligence chief Ali Fuat Yilmazer and Ramazan Akyurek, the head of the police's domestic intelligence branch, Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The individuals will face between three years and nine months, and 45 years in prison, according to the news outlet. Yilmazer and Akyurek were sentenced to seven years and six months, and 45 years, respectively.
In July 2016, a group within the Turkish armed forces launched a failed attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leading to mass arrests among the country's military, intelligence services and law enforcement, including high ranking members.
The government has blamed the followers of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, referred to as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization, for being the driving force behind the coup attempt.
