Turkish media are reporting that Turkey's former President Kenan Evren, convicted last year for his role in the country's bloody 1980 coup, died Saturday at age 97.
The state-run Anatolia news agency said Evren had been receiving treatment at a military hospital since 2012, but his health recently deteriorated and he had been attached to a respirator.
Evren, a former general, was a leader of the 1980 military coup that ousted then-Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel. Evren served as Turkey's president from 1980 to 1989.
Last year, he and Tahsin Sahinkaya, who was also among the five generals who led the 1980 coup, were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the ouster of Demirel. They had both been charged with crimes against the constitution.
The 1980 military coup was the bloodiest in Turkey's modern history, resulting in widespread arrests, torture and deaths.
