MUGLA: Almost 50 suspects went on trial on Monday accused of plotting to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a luxury Aegean hotel on the night of the botched July 15 coup.
Forty-four suspects, mainly soldiers, are under arrest, while three others still on the run are being tried in absentia at the court in the southern city of Mugla.
The suspects, several smartly dressed in suits and ties, were led into the court by security forces in front of television cameras, AFP correspondents said.
Onlookers heckled the accused as they stepped out of the buses that took them from prison, shouting “we want the death penalty!”
The trial was taking place under the highest security with snipers posted on rooftops and helicopters circling overhead.
Erdogan, who was holidaying at a hotel in the Aegean resort of Marmaris with his family on the night of the coup, has said the plot left him 15 minutes from death.
Prosecutors have sought multiple life sentences for each of the 47 suspects, who include an alleged “hit squad” of 37 soldiers.
Many were detained hiding in the mountains above Marmaris, even in caves, in the days after the coup bid that left 248 dead not including the plotters. Turkish officials say the plot to kill Erdogan was a key part of the plan to depose the elected government they allege was masterminded by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his so-called Fethullah Terror Organization (FETO).
Onlookers waving Turkish flags chanted slogans against the accused and Gulen, including “Execution!” and “Game Over, FETO.”
After the coup, there have been calls to reimpose the death penalty in Turkey, which was abolished in 2004.
Erdogan has repeatedly told crowds at rallies he would approve legislation reimposing the death penalty if it was approved by Parliament.
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