On Thursday, June 6, a criminal court in Ankara approved an indictment filed by the Turkish prosecutor’s office under which 102 retired military officers — including former senior commanders — and a civilian will be tried over charges of staging what has come to be known as the post-modern coup of Feb. 28, 1997.
All the suspects, 76 of whom are in jail, face aggravated life imprisonment on charges of overthrowing an Islam-sensitive coalition government and preventing it from performing its duties. Former army chief Ismail Hakki Karadayi is named as the prime suspect in the coup. Together with the other Feb. 28 coup suspects, there are estimated to be around 450 active and retired officers, including three former army commanders as well as active senior generals and admirals, who are being tried on charges of either staging coups, toppling former governments or making plans to unseat the current government.
