UPDATE - More than 115 FETO convicts sentenced to life in Turkey

UPDATES WITH 16 MORE CONVICTS GETTING PRISON SENTENCES

By Mustafa Hatipoglu and Melike Gallenkus

ISTANBUL (AA) - A criminal high court in Istanbul handed down aggravated life sentences to 119 Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) convicts, including high ranking former Turkish military officers on Friday, according to a judicial source.

The convicts were charged over incidents that took place in Istanbul’s Sultanbeyli district and at the Turkish Mehmetcik Foundation on the night of the defeated coup of July 2016, the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

The 28th High Criminal Court in Istanbul’s Silivri district gave its verdict in the case involving three former high ranking military officers and 116 former students of Air Force Academy on the charge of violating the country's constitution.

Separately, an Istanbul court sentenced 16 convicts to prison terms ranging between 3 years and 7 years for “being a member of an armed terrorist group” in a case concerning FETO’s structure at Istanbul Technical University.

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.