Low-key 'state' funeral for Turkish coup leader

The body of the leader of Turkey?s 1980 military coup and former president was taken to the military headquarters in Ankara on May 12, for a funeral service that was boycotted by the government and opposition politicians.

The body of Kenan Evren, who presided over a coup that led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens, was carried to the Turkish General Staff headquarters in central Ankara prior to his burial in the capital?s state cemetery.

As Turkey?s seventh president, Evren was entitled to a state funeral, but his role in the brutal coup saw members of all four parties represented at parliament and most public figures stay away.

The ceremony at the armed forces HQ was closed to the media and Evren?s corpse was due to be taken later to the cemetery, where he will lie alongside the republic?s former presidents, prime ministers and senior military officials.

An escort of police and military vehicles accompanied the former chief of general staff?s body from Gülhane military hospital in north Ankara, where Evren had received medical treatment since March 2012, and riot police lined the route.

Evren, who died on May 9 aged 98, came to power in September 1980 when the army intervened to end widespread street violence.

For three years, the military ruled directly through the National Security Council before a new parliament was voted in and Evren appointed president, a post that he held until November 1989.

The coup was the bloodiest in modern Turkish history, with 50 people hanged officially and nearly 300 dying through torture or neglect. 

One of those executed was 17-year-old Erdal Eren, whose case became notorious after the court tampered with his age in order to carry out the sentence.