Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pardoned seven former senior military officers who were sentenced to life in prison for trying to overthrow the Islamist government in 1997.
Erdogan reportedly made the decision to pardon these former generals, who are now in their 70s and 80s, due to their failing health and advanced age.
In 2018, a court sentenced these generals to life in prison for their role in the actions that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Nejmettin Erbakan in 1997. These convictions were upheld by an appeals court in 2021.
Erbakan's resignation has been described as a "postmodern coup" because it took place without the use of tanks or military forces, as had been the case in previous military coups in the country. After the resignation of Erbakan, the coalition was formed by the new president.
At the time of Erbakan's resignation, the army expressed concern about his moves to increase the role of Islam in a predominantly Muslim but secular country. On February 28, 1997, the military-dominated National Security Council threatened to take action if Erbakan did not step down. Four months later, the prime minister resigned.
Among those pardoned and expected to be released from prison later on Friday is 83-year-old Cetin Dogan, who was in charge of the military operation at the time of the events.
85-year-old Cevik Bir, former deputy chief of military staff, is also among those released earlier due to ill health, along with other officers.
However, the main defendant, former Chief of General Staff Ismail Haqqa Qaradai, died in 2020 while the appeal process was pending.
The trial was one of many in the country against military officers as President Erdogan continued to prosecute generals for meddling in state affairs.
It is worth noting that the Turkish military, which for a long time considered itself the defenders of the country's secular traditions, carried out three coups between 1960 and 1980.
In July 2016, Turkey suffered a coup attempt, which the government blamed on supporters of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who denies involvement.
The pardon came after Erdogan met with the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, Özgür Özel, who raised the issue of the pardon.
It was previously reported that the political power of the current president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suffered the biggest defeat in more than 20 years.
Erdogan himself, commenting on the election results, expressed regret that his political power did not achieve the desired results.
