270 suspected coup plotters on trial in Izmir

A total of 270 suspects went on trial on Monday in Turkey's western city of Izmir over their alleged roles in a failed coup in July last year, local media reported.

It is the first trial of the alleged plotters in Izmir since the coup bid on July 15, in which nearly 250 people were killed.

The suspects, 152 of whom are in pre-trial detention, are accused of "being members of the armed terror group, attempting to remove the constitutional order and preventing parliament from performing its duty," the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

About 1,300 pages of indictment was prepared by Izmir Public Prosecutor Berkant Karakaya as part of the investigation, according to the agency.

Among the defendants are some former high-ranking military officials, including former Aegean Army Command Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Memduh Hakbilen, Anadolu noted.

Ankara believes the coup attempt by some in the military was orchestrated by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in the United State and leader of the so-called Gulen movement now branded as a terror group.

According to press reports, over 40,000 people have been arrested and more than 100,000 state employees dismissed in the country in the ongoing crackdown launched after the coup bid. Endit