Turkish prosecutors have demanded multiple life sentences for almost 50 alleged failed putsches charged with seeking to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a plot he says left him 15 minutes from death, state media reported Tuesday.
Erdogan, who was holidaying at a hotel in the up-market Aegean resort of Marmaris with his family on the night of the July 15 coup, had rushed to Istanbul by plane to escape the conspiracy.
Forty-seven suspects — 44 of whom are under arrest while three are on the run — have been charged with 17 different crimes including an “attempt to assassinate the president”, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
Prosecutors have sought six life sentences for each of the suspects, who include an alleged “assassination team” of 37 soldiers suspected of seeking to execute the plan.
No date has yet been given for the start of the trial.
Turkish officials say the plot to kill Erdogan was a key part of the plan to seize control, a plot they say was masterminded by the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Two Turkish policemen who were helping to guard Erdogan at the hotel were killed, according to the indictment.
Source: AFP
