Turkish protesters demand death for alleged Erdogan 'assassins'

Crowds gathered in front of a Turkish court on Monday to call for 44 soldiers to be put to death as they were brought to court to stand trial on charges of attempting to assassinate the country's president in a botched coup attempt last July.    

The defendants, who denied any links to the cleric accused of orchestrating the coup attempt, were bussed in to a courthouse in the western Aegean province of Mugla, not far from the luxury resort where the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his family narrowly escaped the soldiers, fleeing in a helicopter shortly before their hotel was attacked.

"We want the death penalty. Let the hand that tried to harm our chief be broken," said one of the protesters, 61-year-old Zuhal Ayhan, referring to Erdogan. "I'd give my life for him."

Erdogan, the main plaintiff in the case, has repeatedly – including over the weekend - said he would not deny the nation's wishes and sign off on a bill reinstating the death penalty if it were presented to him by parliament.

More than 240 people were killed during the 15 July failed coup, when a group of rogue soldiers commandeered tanks, warplanes and helicopters, attacking parliament and attempting to overthrow the government.

On Monday, prosecutors in Mugla charged 44 suspects, almost all of them soldiers, with multiple charges including attempting to assassinate the president, breaching the constitution and membership of an armed terrorist organisation, according to the indictment.

Turkey says the coup was orchestrated by a US-based Turkish preacher, Fethullah Gulen. The cleric, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the charges.

Since the failed coup, more than 40,000 people have been arrested and more than 100,000 have been sacked or suspended from the military, civil service and private sector.

Turkey launched its first criminal trial related to the coup in December and more trials are expected.

'No links to Gulen'

One defendant, Major Sukru Seymen, told the court he had no regrets over attempting a coup. 

"I am not afraid of anything. I committed a coup. I will not be affected even if the punishment for this is a death sentence," he told the court during the afternoon session.

"All I did was carry out the duties given to me. The duty given to us was to take the president to Ankara safely," said Seymen.

Gokhan Sahin Sonmezates, the soldier believed to have led the team sent to assassinate Erdogan and also considered one of the main planners of the coup attempt, however denied being part of the Gulen movement and said the plan was not to assassinate the president, according to court reporters from local media.  

"While the whole world knew that the president was headed to Istanbul, we were deceived and sent there [Marmaris]. I didn't speak to [Erodgan's aide-de-camp]. If I had planned this mission, we either would have succeeded or I would have cancelled the operation," Sonmezates was quoted as saying.

"I don't believe that Fethullah Gulen is a 'messiah' or 'prophet'," he said.

Order given by general, not Gulen, says defendent  

He also said he received his orders from General Semih Terzi, who was shot in the head in Ankara by another soldier, Omer Halisdemir, on the night of the coup.

Terzi's bodyguards in turn shot Halisdemir.   

Huseyin Aydin, one of Erdogan's lawyers, told reporters that none of the defendants were exhibiting any signs of remorse and remain convinced of their mission to assassinate the president.

"At the time they believed that what they were doing was holy anyway. What we observed today is that they still feel the same," said Aydin.

Aydin said the defendants were trained in the most elite units of the Turkish armed forces and their brief was to "pick up president Erdogan and take him somewhere".  

Erdogan's lawyers have said they hope for a quick trial and hope to see the case wrapped up by April at the latest.

The session is expected to last until 15 March with the court hearing evidence from all defendants.

The court calendar foresees another reconvening on 24-28 April and 5-9 June.  

Security was tight, as with court hearings on the failed coup attempt to date.

The area around the court was cordoned off and patrolled by dozens of security force members, including police and special forces. Snipers stood on nearby rooftops.

The court in Mugla was too small to handle the number of defendants and authorities said the trial was being heard at the conference room of the chamber of commerce next door.

According to the indictment, some 37 soldiers were charged with a having a direct role in the storming of the luxury hotel, others are those who provided assistance to the operation.

Reuters also contributed to this report