'Erdogan assassins' go on trial in Turkey

'Erdogan assassins' go on trial in Turkey

A court hearing on the alleged assassination attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a luxury Aegean hotel on the night of the botched July 15 coup started Monday in Turkey's southwestern Mugla province.

Forty-four suspects, mainly soldiers, are under arrest, while three others still on the run are being tried in absentia at the court in the southern city of Mugla, AFP reported.

Erdogan, who was holidaying at a hotel in the upmarket Aegean resort of Marmaris with his family on the night of the coup, has said the plot left him 15 minutes from death.

Prosecutors have sought multiple life sentences for each of the suspects, who include an alleged hit squad of 37 soldiers suspected of seeking to carry out the plan.

Turkish officials say the plot to kill Erdogan was a key part of the plan to usurp the elected government, a plot they say was masterminded by the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen denies being behind the plot.

Two Turkish policemen who were helping to guard Erdogan at the hotel were killed, according to the indictment. More than 240 Turkish citizens were killed during a coup.

Some 43,000 people have been arrested following the coup attempt in a massive crackdown on followers of Gulen.

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