Ankra - A court in Istanbul has heard the indictment in the case of the attempted coup in Turkey against 29 police officers facing life imprisonment, local media reported on Monday.
The police officers during the coup attempt allegedly asked people in the streets, who were protesting against the events, to remain calm and abstain from protecting the government, Haberturk TV channel reported.
According to the media, another three policemen could receive long prison terms for having installed on their phones the encrypted messaging app, ByLock, which the Turkish authorities believe was used by followers of the Fethullah Gulen movement to exchange messages.
On July 15, a military coup attempt took place in Turkey. More than 240 Turkish citizens were killed and over 2 000 people were injured, before the rebellion was suppressed the following day.
The Turkish authorities have accused dissident Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the attempted coup and demanded his extradition from the United States, where Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999. Gulen himself has denounced the rebellion and declared his innocence.
Sputnik