ISTANBUL, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-four suspects went on trial on Monday over their alleged roles in planning the Istanbul leg of a failed coup in July last year, local media reported.
Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Turkish cleric accused of orchestrating the coup bid, is also named as a defendant in the trial held in Istanbul's district of Silivri, the Haberturk daily said.
Gulen and eight other suspects are being tried in absentia , the daily said, noting 92 life sentences were demanded for him.
Other defendants, including six generals and 17 officers, are facing charges against the state and over the deaths of 89 people, according to the report.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, several senior officers, parliamentarians, members of the ruling Justice and Development Party's Istanbul headquarters are listed as among plaintiffs in the case, press reports said.
The crackdown is continuing in the wake of the coup bid, in which nearly 250 people were killed, with tens of thousands already detained or dismissed from their posts.
Turkey has been pushing for U.S. extradition of Gulen, a case that has contributed to strained bilateral ties.
