06 August 2013

Turkish Court Gives 19 Life Sentences

A Turkish court sentenced a former military chief and 18 other people to life in prison on Monday, concluding a landmark case that has divided the nation and come to symbolize the conflict between the Islamist-rooted government and the secularist-dominated opposition.

Ilker Basbug, the 70-year-old head of Turkey's armed forces until 2010, was among those given a life sentence along with 13 other military officers, a soldier, a journalist, a lawyer, a politician and an ex-publisher for plotting to overthrow the government. Of the 275 defendants, all of whom said they were innocent, all but 17 were convicted. [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL] Read more