By Adsız Gunebakan
GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AA) - Four former Turkish military officers have been given heavy jail terms over their links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), said a judicial source on Monday.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, during which 250 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 others injured.
The suspects were convicted of being involved in the incidents at 5th Armored Brigade of the Turkish Armed Forces in Gaziantep during the coup night, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Former officers Brig. Gen. Murat Soysal and a Lt. Col. Hakan Cinar were given aggravated life sentence on the charge of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.
Soysal was among FETO's so-called martial law commanders, who would have been expected to exercise authority if the illegal putsch had succeeded.
Another former officer Lt. Col. Metin Gultekin was handed down 18 years and 9 months in prison for being a member of an armed terrorist group and illegally obtaining the classified documents related to state security.
Also, the court gave seven years and six months in prison to a former military officer for being a member of an armed terrorist group.