The İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court on Wednesday ruled for the acquittal of former 3rd Army Commander Gen. Erdal Öztürk, who was among 24 defendants in a trial concerning a failed coup in Turkey.
Öztürk has been held in pre-trial detention for 14 months.The prosecutor in the case stated that there was no evidence of the commander having any link to the faith-based Gülen movement, which is held responsible by the government for orchestrating the failed coup of July 15, 2016. Consequently, the judges acquitted him of all charges including attempting to overturn the constitutional order of the Republic of Turkey.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt in July 2016 that killed 249 people and wounded more than a thousand others.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
