Turkey's former military chief has been convicted of trying to overthrow the government and sentenced to life in prison.

Ilker Basbug was the most prominent defendant among 250 people facing verdicts on in a landmark trial regarding an alleged conspiracy to overthrow Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Earlier the court acquitted 21 defendants, but convicted and sentenced more than 40, including military officers, a journalist and a police chief. The sentences ranged from a year to life.

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