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Turkey's former president Kenan Evren dies at 97

Xinhua, May 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Former Turkish President Kenan Evren died at the age of 97 in a military hospital in the capital city of Ankara Saturday due to multiple organ failure, the private Dogan news agency reported on Sunday.

Evren was the leader of the military coup on Sept. 12, 1980 as the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Armed Froces at the time.

With the constitution approved by a popular vote in 1982, Evren continued to hold the presidency until 1989, after the junta handed executive power to a civilian government in 1983.

An Ankara high criminal court sentenced Evren to life imprisonment on June 18, 2014, along with ex-general Tahsin Sahinkaya for their roles in the 1980 coup.

The trial of Evren and Sahinkaya began in April 2012 with the prosecution claiming that the two had attempted to "eliminate" the Turkish constitution and override the parliament. Both generals were demoted to the rank of private.

Citing poor health, the two ex-generals had not attended court proceedings against them. Instead, they attended the trials via a video conference system while staying in the hospital.

Both defendants lodged an appeal against their sentences with the Supreme Court of Appeals, which has yet to announce its final verdict on the case.

Evren previously said he would never testify and claimed that he would commit suicide before he could be tried.

"I promise in front of my nation that I will not let this matter be dealt with in the courts. I will commit suicide," he said in 2009, when the idea of a coup trial was discussed.

He later attended the trials via a video conference system. Endi