PodcastTurkey's Court of Cassation upholds life sentence for jailed Admiral Nejat Atilla Demirhan in coup case
Turkey's Court of Cassation has upheld an aggravated life sentence against jailed former Navy Mediterranean Region Commander Admiral Nejat Atilla Demirhan on charges concerning the July 2016 failed coup attempt. Demirhan has been found guilty of leading the coup attempt in the southern province of Mersin.
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The Court of Cassation, Turkey’s high court of appeals, on June 16 upheld a local court's conviction of several former military and police personnel, including former Navy Mediterranean Region Commander Admiral Nejat Atilla Demirhan, on charges concerning the failed coup attempt of July 2016.
Accordingly, Demirhan, former Colonel Tayfun Ergi, former Major İlhan Tabur, former Captain Ali Gül and former chief of police Hasan Basri Dağdelen will serve aggravated life sentences for “attempting to abolish the constitutional order,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Thehigh court also upheld the conviction of 19 others in jail termsranging up to 15 years.
Demirhan has been found guilty of leading the coup attempt in the southern province of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast. The court said Demirhan declared himself as “martial law commander” in the province and tried to have Mersin governor and Mersin chief of police detained.
TheGülen movement, which Turkish authorities refer to as theFethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), is widely believed tohave undertaken the failed coup attempt of July 2016.
Since then, thousands of soldiers have been arrested and gone on on trial on charges of being a member of the Gülen movement.