A court in eastern Turkey on Thursday has sentenced two former military officers to life terms in prison, in the first convictions over the failed military coup in July.
The court in Erzurum on Thursday convicted ex-Col. Murat Koçak and ex-Maj. Murat Yılmaz of attempting to abolish Turkey's "constitutional order."
It described them as members of a network headed by U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused of orchestrating the failed coup.
The two were on duty at Erzurum's gendarmerie command at the time of the botched July 15 coup. The two defendants have rejected the accusation.
The trial marked the first time a court had passed sentence over the operation launched in the evening of July 15 and crushed by the morning.
