As many as 27 men accused of masterminding the failed coup attempt against the Turkish government arrived in court in the capital Ankara Monday, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to rule out bringing back the death sentence for those involved in the ill-fated takeover attempt.
Earlier images show Akin Ozturk, a four star general and former commander of the Turkish air force alongside others accused by Erdogan of leading the failed coup attempt in police custody in Ankara. One image shows Ozturk wearing a bandage over one ear; another reveals bruising on his neck.
Akin Ozturk (center, first row) appears in a picture, which shows some of the 27 men accused by the Erdogan government of having led Friday’s failed coup in Turkey.
He is shown alongside the other accused are also shown being roughly led away, their hands bound with plastic ties, paraded in front of cameras as they were bustled into a waiting van.
Over the weekend, photographs surfaced on social media of apparent mass detentions, including one showing dozens of people kneeling down in a large stable in Ankara, apparently stripped to the waist.
Erdogan vowed to continue his crackdown on alleged coup plotters as the number of those detained by the government topped 6,000.
The 6,000 arrests include senior aides and senior members of the military. Arrests will continue, according to Turkey’s foreign ministry.
The arrests include Gen. Bekir Ercan Van, commander of the Incirlik Air Base, according to the Turkish President’s office. The United States uses the airbase to launch airstrikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
