A Turkish court has sentenced more than 300 military officers to jail for plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan almost a decade ago.
Ending a trial seen as underscoring civilian dominance over the once all-powerful military, two retired generals and a retired admiral considered the ringleaders of the plot were given life terms.
The court in Silivri, west of Istanbul, on Friday handed prison terms to 322 serving and retired army officers and acquitted 34, according to court documents seen by Reuters.
The so-called Sledgehammer conspiracy is said to have included plans to bomb historic mosques in Istanbul and trigger conflict with Greece to pave the way for an army takeover.
The military launched three coups between 1960 and 1980 and pressured an Islamist-led government to quit in 1997.
Mr Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party, which came to power a decade ago, has tamed military influence over policy-making and ministerial appointments as part of efforts to strengthen democracy, while prosecutors have pursued suspected coup-makers through the courts.
