Former Turkish president Kenan Evren and ex-Air Force commander Tahsin Sahinkaya were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for their roles in a military coup in 1980, state broadcaster TRT said.
Evren, 96, and Sahinkaya, 89, were accused of setting the stage for a military intervention, the third in 20 years, and then conducting the coup.
The coup set the stage for a military regime under which thousands were tortured, hundreds sentenced to death and many more vanished and ushered in an era of military dominance in Turkish politics.
REUTERS
