The trial of 47 suspects accused of attempting to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan [official profile] on July 15 during a failed military coup began [Reuters report] Monday. The trial will be held in Mugla, in the southwestern corner of Turkey. Before the coup attempt had been effectively quashed, Erdoğan promised [tweet] that “the ring leader who plotted all of this will pay the price in front of the nation.”

Erdoğan has already taken steps to purge his government and consolidate power after the coup. A recent report indicated that more than 90,000 Turkish public servants from the military, police, civil service and education systems have been dismissed from their jobs [JURIST report] for alleged connections to the July coup attempt. In January the Turkish Parliament approved a plan [JURIST report], which, if approved by vote later this year, would increase presidential power and allow Erdoğan to stay in office until 2029. Turkey significantly restricted the activities of NGOs in November of last year and arrested opposition party leaders [JURIST report] alleging they had connections with terrorist organizations. In October Human Rights Watch warned [JURIST report] that the emergency measures put in place after the failed coup had resulted in serious human rights violations.