A Turkish court sentenced former Coast Guard Commander Rear Adm. Hakan Üstem to life in prison in a trial concerning actions at the Coast Guard Command during Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
The court acquitted three defendants.
The verdict was delivered at the end of a hearing in Ankara, where defendants and their lawyers were present and the defendants were asked for their final statements.
Üstem said he had gone to his unit on the night of the coup attempt to assume responsibility and requested acquittal and release.
Defendants deny accusations
Defendant Mehmet Yılmaz said he was innocent and would seek compensation for the deprivation of his rights if his innocence was later established.
İsa Aydın said he was not in Ankara and did not take part in any actions, adding that he believed the court would issue a fair and conscientious decision.
Süleyman Yarayan claimed he had not been allowed to exercise his right to make a final defense and therefore did not want to make a final statement.
Abdullah Karaca said he loved his mother and wife and asked to be acquitted and released.
Former Maj. Abdülkadir Akcan told the court he would one day hold to account those behind what he described as an indictment that portrayed his duty on July 15 as terrorist activity without the slightest evidence.
Güray Demir said he had sworn an oath 23 years earlier and would remain loyal to it even if his uniform had been forcibly removed and he was accused of treason.
Two aggravated life sentences
The court sentenced Akcan and former Coast Guard Operations Chief Süleyman Yarayan to aggravated life in prison on charges of violating the constitution.
The court said Akcan had made threatening remarks toward the panel in his final statement and that Yarayan had acted in a way that prolonged the trial.
Yarayan was also sentenced to an additional four years and six months in prison for firing a weapon.
Twenty-three others receive life sentences
The court sentenced Üstem and 22 other defendants to life in prison on the same charge.
Those sentenced included former Lt. Col. Mustafa Şaban Gümüşiğne, former Maj. Burhan Gülnar, former Lt. Col. İsa Aydın, former Capt. Temur Yılmaz, former Maj. Mehmet Yılmaz, former Maj. Güray Demir, former Maj. Muammer Köse, former Maj. Erkan Şirin, former Maj. Ferhat Erel, former Maj. Emir Nazlı, former Capt. Abdullah Karaca, former Capt. Hakan Dişli, former Staff Maj. Fatih Şahin, Sezgin Şakrucu, former Capt. Ahmet Küçüktamer, former Maj. Mehmet Gümüşay and several noncommissioned officers.
The court acquitted privates Anıl Ceylan, Zafer Önder Yufkacı and Alper Hepçaldıranlı.
Fourth July 15 verdict by the same court
The verdict marked the fourth decision by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court in trials related to the coup attempt.
The court had previously issued verdicts in cases concerning the alleged abduction of retired Gen. Kamil Başoğlu, former commander of the Land Forces Training and Doctrine Command, or EDOK; seven former police officers accused of blocking police who wanted to resist coup plotters at the Haymana District Police Department; and 26 defendants from the Land Forces MEBS School and Training Center.
Ankara blames the coup attempt on the Gülen movement, a transnational civic initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, and designates the movement as a terrorist organization. The movement denies involvement in the coup or any terrorist activity.
