A Turkish prosecutor in the case against generals who masterminded and staged the 12 September 1980 military coup, asked for life sentences without parole for former generals Kenan Evren (95) and Tahsin Şahinkaya (87).

The prosecutor announced his legal opinion in the case at the hearing at the Ankara 12th High Criminal Court.

Turkey witnessed its bloodiest coup d'état in 1980 when Evren, a former chief of General Staff and later president, and his men overthrew the elected government. After a referendum in 2012 opened the door to the possibility of filing complaints against the generals, over a thousands complaints have been filed. Şahinkaya was the commander of the Air Forces at the time.