A Turkish court issued the first verdicts in trials related to Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt, handing down aggravated life sentences and other prison terms in a case concerning the detention of presidential secretary-general Fahri Kasırga.
The case centered on allegations that Kasırga, then one of the presidency’s top administrative officials, was taken and held during the events of July 15.
The court sentenced 18 defendants to aggravated life imprisonment plus 12 years.
Five other defendants were sentenced to standard life imprisonment plus 10 years.
Former Presidential Guard Regiment commander Staff Col. Muhsin Kutsi Barış received a 12-year prison sentence.
The verdict marked the first set of rulings in the large number of criminal trials opened after the coup attempt.
