"[The participants of coup attempt] are pursuing two aims. First of all in order to carry this issue to the international judiciary they will play all kinds of dirty tricks. They want people to say that there was no fair trial and that they were not given the right to defend. And we will take away all these accuses. Let them express their defense… They will receive the punishment, the penalty they deserve within the framework of the law," Yildirim told the reporters on the press conference in Ankara dedicated to the anniversary of coup attempt.
A coup attempt, which mainly involved members of the army, took place in Turkey on July 15, 2016. Most of the struggle happened in the capital Ankara and in Istanbul. More than 240 Turkish citizens were killed and over 2,000 wounded during the unsuccessful military takeover.
The Turkish government has accused Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher living in the United States, of involvement in the coup and demanded his extradition to Turkey. More than 50,000 people were arrested and 100,000 dismissed or suspended from their jobs within the post-coup crackdown inside Turkey.
