A court in Ankara sentenced on June 18 the two key defendants in the case of the 1980 military coup d’état, including former president Kenan Evren, to life in prison, Hürriyet Daily News reports on Wednesday.
Another defendant, former commander of the Turkish Air Forces Tahsin Şahinkaya was also sentenced to life imprisonment.
The 1980 coup leaders argued they were forced to intervene to restore order after years of chaos, in which 5,000 people died in factional violence between leftist and rightist groups.
Evren, aged 95, and Şahinkaya, aged 90, have already filed individual appeals to the Constitutional Court, arguing their rights have been violated due to the trial.
Former president sentenced to life in prison in Turkey
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