Prosecutor indicts 62 soldiers over July 15 coup bid

By Muhammed Enes Can and Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - Istanbul prosecutors Monday filed charges against 62 soldiers suspected of having links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and involvement in the July 15 defeated coup, according to a judicial source.

In the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office indictment sent to Istanbul’s 23rd High Criminal Court, the suspects are charged with attempting to abolish the constitutional order, attempting to abolish parliament and hindering it carrying out its duties, attempting to abolish the government, and being members of an terror organization.

The court was asked to sentence the soldiers, 28 of whom were remanded in custody, to penalties ranging from 15 years in jail to aggravated life sentences, the source said, on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

The FETO group and its leader Fetullah Gulen are accused by the Turkish government of being behind the coup attempt and a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

The July 15 defeated coup left 248 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.