Turkish Court Sentences 27 to Life in Prison Over 2016 Coup Attempt

A Turkish court sentenced 27 former pilots and civilians to life in prison for their roles in an attempted coup in 2016 against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The court handed down the sentences, which included multiple life sentences, on Thursday. Former Lt. Col. Hasan Husnu Balikci, who bombed Turkey’s parliament, was sentenced to 79 aggravated life sentences, the Anadolu Agency reported, and former fighter pilot Muslim Macit received 16 aggravated life sentences, for killing 15 people near the presidential complex. Erdogan was not in the capital at the time of the attempted coup, orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). At least 251 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured during the coup attempt. Some 4,154 coup suspects have been convicted since July 2016, according to the French news service AFP.