Turkish court releases 13 suspects in major FETO case

By Aylin Sirikli and Baris Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish court on Friday released 13 suspects in a top case related to last year’s deadly coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), said a judicial source.

The Ankara 4th High Criminal Court issued a release order for 13 out of 486 suspects in the Akinci Air Base trial, one of the major trials related to the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

All of the released suspects were on duty at the base -- which was later renamed Murted Base -- on the night of the coup attempt and then fired from their jobs.

They were accused of being members of FETO, and involvement in its coup attempt.

At Akinci, an air base north of the capital Ankara, the coup-plotters established a command center to coordinate attacks, including fighter jets that attacked Parliament and the presidential complex.

Some of the most senior plotters are said to have been at the base, and it was also where Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar was held hostage.

The next hearing in the case will continue with defendants' defenses between Dec. 11 and Jan. 20, 2018.

This trial has seen 486 defendants, mostly former military officers, face allegations that they orchestrated the coup on behalf of FETO leader Fetullah Gulen.

The coup attempt left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.