Turkey general arrested and charged with treason as rebels are threatened with death penalty

ONE of Turkey’s most senior military generals has been charged with treason and may face the death penalty following the failed military coup.

Rebel leader General Erdal Ozturk was marched, with his hands cuffed behind his back, through the streets after the coup which saw hundreds killed in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara in the overnight coup.

The country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has now issued arrest warrants for 2745 judges and prosecutors with 132 already detained.

Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s Deputy Leader, said government will introduce a bill calling for the execution of rebel soldiers.

He said on Twitter: “We will put forward a motion, which will demand the execution of those who have been involved in the coup attempt.”

General Erdal Ozturk, who commanded the Third Army Corps, now faces treason charges for his involvement in the plot which saw more than 250 people killed.

President Erdogan, who was on holiday when the military took to the streets in a show of force against the government, rushed back to Istanbul on Friday night after calling for people to take to the streets and oppose the attempted takeover.

He has since claimed his government in back in charge, making a speech to crowds gathered in Istanbul on Saturday night, saying they were back at work.

He said: “You went out in to the squares, that’s what ruined their plot. And for the next week we need to continue this solidarity, we must keep up these meetings.”

Two generals are understood to have been arrested in the government’s spree, targeting those involved in the coup.

Some involved in the coup have tried to escape to Greece with Turkey demanding the eight rebels be returned.

Those killed in the overnight turmoil include 161 civilians and police officers, as well as 104 people involved in the coup itself.

As gunfire echoed through the streets of Istanbul and Ankara, the soldiers involved in the military action were warned by senior officers to return to their posts or face prosecution.

The arrest warrants come after the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim warned the death penalty could be brought back to punish those who had been involved in the attempted overthrow.

But crowds supporting the government have taken matters into their own hands with images of soldiers being beaten up in the streets being released.

Tens of thousands of people have remained in the streets in Istanbul and Ankara and other Turkish cities on Saturday night after President urged them to continue to fight against the coup.