Almost 500 people arrested after last year's failed coup in Turkey have appeared in court accused of taking part in the plot, local media reported.
In a courthouse built specifically to try cases linked with the coup attempt, 486 went on trial on a long list of charges, including trying to assassinate the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leading an armed terrorist organization and homicide, Anadolu agency reports.
Rebel soldiers tried to grab power in July 2016, leaving 249 civilians dead. Military chief Gen Hulusi Akar and other senior officers were held hostage at the base for several hours on the night that the coup took place.
In the aftermath of their botched attempt, thousands of people have been arrested, many suspected of having links to Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in exile in the US. Turkish President accuses Gulen of masterminding the coup attempt.
