LOC18:07
15:07 GMT
ISTANBUL, May 29 (KUNA) -- A criminal court began on Monday cross-examination into the main libel suit regarding July's botched bid to overthrow the government.
The official Anadolu news agency put the number of defendants at 24, including 15 behind iron bars and nine at large.
Fethulla Gulen, a main opposition leader who lives in the United States, is the top defendant in the case. Among the charged were six army generals and 17 officers of various ranks.
General prosecution is seeking life imprisonment with hard labor for the accused. Litigators include President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 89 personalities and several government departments.
Gulen, who fled to the US in 1999, is being prosecuted in absentia.
Turkey witnessed, on July 15, a foiled bid to bring down Erdogan's leadership. Several officers were charged with staging the failed coup d'etat.
Erdogan had called on his followers to demonstrate against the plotters on the streets and at public places. His call was widely heeded and his followers responded quickly. Up to 250 people were killed and nearly 3,000 others were wounded in the events. (end)
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