Turkey upholds jail terms for would-be Erdogan assassins

By Aylin Sirikli and Kemal Karadag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Supreme Court upheld lengthy jail terms for the team that were involved in an assassination plot against president during the 2016 defeated coup.

Among the penalties were aggravated life sentences handed down to former Brig. Gen. Gokhan Sahin Sonmezates and former Master Sgt. Zekeriya Kuzu.

The convicts were charged with attempting to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of the defeated July 15, 2016 coup.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated coup, which left at least 251 people martyred and around 2,200 others wounded.

During the night of the coup attempt, two police officers were martyred at the scene of Erdogan's hotel in the Mediterranean port town of Marmaris.

That night Erdogan told the nation on live television he had narrowly escaped with his life when the hotel was bombed 15 minutes after he left the premises.

The government also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.