Ankara: Turkey on Monday opened the biggest trial yet over the failed July coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, trying 270 suspects including, in absentia, the alleged mastermind Fethullah Gulen.

The suspects, 152 of whom are in pre-trial detention, include ex high-ranking military officials like former Aegean Army Command Chief of Staff Major General Memduh Hakbilen, the state news agency Anadolu reported.

The "number one" suspect is US-based Islamic preacher Gulen who is charged with ordering the failed July 15 coup, an accusation he strongly denies.

Ankara also accuses the movement Gulen leads of being a "terror organisation" although the group insists it is a peaceful organisation promoting moderate Islam.

Those on trial in the western city of Izmir face multiple charges including being a member of the "armed terror group".

Turkey has repeatedly asked the United States to extradite Gulen, who has been living in exile there since 1999.

The previous administration of Barack Obama had insisted that a possibly slow legal process should take its course but Ankara is hoping for a more eager response to its extradition request from new President Donald Trump.

Other charges against the suspects include seeking to prevent parliament performing its duty as well as attempting to remove the constitutional order, the agency said.

The suspects face life imprisonment if convicted in a trial expected to take two months, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.

It said Izmir was believed to be one of the main plotting hubs of the coup with the Aegean city used as a "logistical base".

A special courtroom was built to accommodate the size of the trial and security was tight ahead of the hearing.

Intensive security measures included a drone above the courthouse, bomb-sniffing dogs and commando units.

Previous trials have opened in Istanbul and smaller cases in other provinces in what is expected to be the largest legal process in the country's history.

Some 43,000 people are under arrest ahead of trial in a large-scale crackdown within a state of emergency declared after the coup which remains in place.

In December, 29 police officers went on trial in Istanbul accused of failing to defend Erdogan while 62 rebel soldiers are being tried over claims they attempted to take over Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the night of July 15. </s> A grand jury on Tuesday indicted 19 people, including 15 Turkish security officials, in connection with a brawl in Washington between protesters and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s security personnel in May, U.S. prosecutors said.

Eleven people were hurt in what Washington’s police chief described as a “brutal attack” on peaceful protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence during Erdogan’s visit to the United States.

The incident, which took place after Erdogan met with President Donald Trump at the White House, put further stress on already strained U.S.-Turkey relations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement charges had already been brought against 16 of the defendants, and Tuesday’s indictment added three to the list.

The three were named as Muhsin Kose, Yusuf Ayar and Harrettin Eren, adding they were among the 15 Turkish security officials indicted. The statement did not specify the others in the list.

“All 19 defendants were indicted on a charge of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, with a bias crime enhancement,” it said. The charge is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison and bias enhancement could lead to longer sentences, the statement said.

Only two of the 19 are in custody, and they are due to appear in court on Sept. 7, the statement said.

The Turkish Embassy has blamed the violence on demonstrators linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which Turkey and the United States consider a terrorist group.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul launches an investigation into 17 United States citizens in connection with the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.