A high criminal court in İstanbul has handed down aggravated life sentences to 72 defendants due to their alleged role in the occupation of the Bosporus Bridge and the death of 34 people in the incidents there on the night of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
There were a total of 143 defendants in the trial, 133 of whom were in pretrial detention, which was concluded by the İstanbul 25th High Criminal Court on Thursday. All of the defendants are former members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
The military coup attempt claimed the lives of 249 people while a thousand others were injured when a group within the Turkish military attempted to overthrow the government. The coup attempt was suppressed by the next morning.
The defendants were given the aggravated life sentences on charges of violating the Constitution through use of force.
The remaining 22 defendants were given 17 years, six months or 15 years jail sentences on charges of aiding in the violation of the Constitution.