ISTANBUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Five former Turkish soldiers on Thursday were sentenced to life in prison over their involvement in the failed military coup in 2016.
The 25th High Criminal Court in Istanbul handed down aggravated life sentences to the quintet, suspected members of a network blamed for orchestrating the putsch on the night of July 15, 2016, for violating the constitution, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
In addition, the defendants were each sentenced to 41 years in prison for damaging property and causing intentional injuries, teh report said.
The investigation and crackdown related to the coup attempt has resulted in over 150,000 people dismissed or suspended from their posts and 55,000 others arrested.
Many of them were suspected of being linked to the Gulen movement led by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is regarded by Ankara as the mastermind behind the coup.
The U.S. has so far rejected Turkey's requests for extraditing Gulen over his role in the failed coup that left 250 people killed, which strained Ankara's ties with the United States.
