Sri Lanka's Armed Forces to assist police in search and arrest crackdown in Jaffna says Inspector General of Police

31 Jul  2017

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundare, who visited Jaffna in response to an attack on two police constables in Kokuvil on Sunday, said Sri Lanka's Army will help patrols and searches in the North-East.

The IGP who was in Jaffna on Monday to brief the police forces on a new strategy, involving search and arrest on suspicion, to deal with recent attacks against police constables, said,  

“We are going to have the assistance of the STF and Armed Forces. We are going to start combined patrols and searches to find those responsible for the attack. Until we arrest all perpetrators of the attacks on policemen this special patrol system will be implemented….The people must understand we are doing everything for the people here. It is all Sri Lankan people. There is no difference between the political alliances, races or religions or whatever. We all belong to the same country. Everybody has a right to live in peace. We have to ensure that with the assistance of the STF and Armed forces. There’s a limit to the amount of patience we can have.”

Mr Jayasundara added that the new strategy had the support of the President and Prime Minsiter. 

Stating that recent attacks on police constables in the North-East were a threat to the security of civilians, Mr Jayasundare said,

“We are in the process of patrolling, checking and arresting on suspicion, with the assistance of the Special Task Force STF. We have given a lot of opportunities for the people without strict security on the people because we wanted them to have free opportunities to move. Therefore this attack has happened. We have to take some action. We can’t allow these incidents to happen; we need a proper control over the situation and area. The idea is to ensure the security so that people can live in peace and harmony.”

Mr Jayasundare expressed concern at a recent alleged rise in gang operations,

“We need to improve the security in the Northern Province, especially in Jaffna. We will also confidentially identify all those that are involved in illicit things and gangs. We can’t allow for bad characters to have control of the area, and create a separate law and order.”

The IGP said the main suspect for the most recent attack on the police had been identified as a member of the Ava gang and an ex Cadre.

A situation brief produced by Jaffna Based think-tank Adayaalam Cenre for Policy Research (ACPR) last year, expressed concern over alleged links between the Aava gang and military intelligence. A rise in activity of the Aava gang was noticed at the end of 2016, despite most of the individuals linked to the gang having been arrested beforehand. 

"ACPR believes that the manner in which the Aava gang issue is being handled by the Government seeks to further strengthen the national security apparatus in the Tamil majority areas of Sri Lanka.  Either the Government is actively allowing the security apparatus to further this agenda of securitisation or lacks the political will to contain the security apparatus," said the think tank in November last year. 

So called conveners of Inter University and medical students committees are not students but masqueraders !

(Lanka-e-News- 31.July.2017, 11.30PM)     By Leaders of various organizations under various names claiming they are representing the University student groups when   in fact they are individuals  who have finished their University education and are no longer in the universities , the credibility of the University associations have completely crumbled.
 
This was best illustrated when a bloke by the name of Sanath Bandara appeared before the media as the convener of the Inter University Students Federation . (IUSF)

This individual is one who had completed his University education and is now fulltime involved in Peratugami party politics. When Sanath Bandara arrived to address a meeting of the Colombo University and as representing the Inter University , he was chased away by the students. 

In like manner , Rayan Jayalath who claims he is the convener of the Medical student activist committee is also an individual  who had left the medical College, and receiving internship training. 

It has therefore come to light , the so called student leaders who are claiming they are from the ‘Lankan students movement ’ are no longer students , and they are the ageing blokes who have finished their University education.

If this information is being challenged ,these two individuals aforementioned  must  prove they are still registered students of Universities at the next media meeting. 

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by     (2017-07-31 22:33:22)

Ravi K and the Penthouse: The acid test for Yahapalana integrity

2017-08-01

This government has routinely blamed the corruption of the former regime for the current economic hardships in the country. Now, how on earth did it manage to behave like nothing had happened after recent jaw-dropping allegations against its former Finance Minister cum incumbent Foreign Minister? 
Last week, Anika Wijesuriya, a directress of a construction company told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the alleged bond scam that Arjun Aloysius, director of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd., had paid the rental of a penthouse lease of Ravi Karunanayake, while the latter was the Finance Minister in 2016. Ms. Wijesuriya, who was the original owner of the house at Monarch Residencies, said Minister Karunanayake and his family leased out the penthouse for eight months with the monthly lease rental Rs.1.45 million being paid by Mr. Aloysius. She said Rs.7.3 million was transferred by the Perpetual Capital Holdings Pvt. Ltd. to Walt and Row Pvt. Ltd., with which she had entered into a lease agreement. Another Rs. 1.4 million was paid to her in cash. Later in September 2016, the house had been bought for Rs. 165 million by a company, Global Transportation and Logistics Pvt. Ltd., in which Mr. Karunanayake’s wife and daughter were directresses. 

Later in the week, a second witness, Chief Financial Officer of the Global Transportation and Logistics Pvt. Ltd., B.R. Chinnaiya who gave evidence before the commission could not explain the origin of money that had been used to purchase the house. He revealed that the money was obtained from the chairman’s safe, into which the company’s London based chairman had dumped Rs. 145 million on two occasions, when he arrived in Sri  Lanka during 2016 and 2017. Nor did the company’s statements of accounts make any reference to the origin of the said funds. 

This is not some bad joke. This is a damning exposé, which has been revealed before an independent Presidential Commission, which is definitely not a kangaroo court of the former regime. By trying to downplay them, the government is undermining the independence and legitimacy of the country’s judiciary. Funny enough, there were even some vain attempts to blame the Rajapaksas for this debacle too - no matter how improbable that would really sound. Minister Karunanayake failed to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on two days during last week. The commission was told he was attending the Cabinet meeting, and on the other occasion, that he was at the defence council meeting. He has now raised Parliamentary privileges over his being summoned by the commission on those two days, while Parliament was in sessions. He cited Parliamentary privileges in the UK, the Commonwealth and Sri Lanka to justify his claim. However, there is another point. If Minister Karunanayake were in the House of Commons or any other legislature in a civilized place, he was unlikely to cling onto his portfolio after those sickening allegations. Those are the countries where MPs are expelled from parties and ministers reign over the slightest violation of code of ethics; for instance, misappropriating parliamentary expenses allowances, which viewed in our context, is no different from selling the duty free vehicle permit. That may be a scale of maturity of those legislatures. Yet, equal privileges to MPs do not necessarily translate into similar level of dignity and integrity of high political offices. 

• Government undermining independence and legitimacy of judiciary

• Damage already done to his persona and integrity of government

• Witnesses reveal CB Governor visited Debt Dept. on day of controversial bond sale

However, the recent revelations have now raised a serious case of conflict of interest which, needless to say, would compromise Foreign Minister Karunanayake. The country would know his side of the story if he gives evidence, as he has now promised, on August 2. But, quite a lot of damage is already done to his persona, and more than that, to the integrity of the government. 

Minister Karunanayake is also a close confidante of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He stood by Mr. Wickremesinghe during those not so distant turbulent days in the UNP. The Prime Minister is thus constrained by old loyalties. In fact, both messrs. Wickremesinghe and Karunanayake defended former Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahendran, who is also the father-in-law of Mr. Aloysius from allegations of foul play in Central Bank bond sales. The UNP members of the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) attempted to influence a COPE report that held Mr. Mahendran responsible for the extensive financial losses incurred due to dodgy bond sales. The UNP MPs threatened to table a dissenting report. When it was found out that the Standing Orders do not allow for a dissenting report, they inserted footnotes in the main report. The thrust of the footnotes were to absolve Mr. Mahendran from allegations of irregularities. Some of the footnotes read as thus: “The decision to increase the sum to be raised from Rs. one billion to Rs. 10 billion was taken based on a professional decision by a team, according to Chairman of the tender committee P. Samarasiri.” “According to Superintendent of the Public Debt Department, the former Central Bank Governor had not said ‘Do it,’ but instead had given the idea ‘why don’t you go for ten?” Even in the Auditor General report it is mentioned that the former Central Bank Governor had told Ms. Seneviratne ‘Why don’t you go for ten ?” and there is no other evidence contrary to that” (Page 24).

“There is no evidence that former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran or Deputy Governors Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and Ananda Silva made inquiries or intervened in the particular auction” ( Page 37).

Since then, a host of witnesses who gave evidence before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry have revealed scandalous details including the CB Governor visiting the Debt Department on the day of controversial bond sale and instructing a many-fold increase of bond sales on the particular day. 

Later, a leaked Central Bank report revealed that the controversial bond trader Perpetual Treasuries owned by Mr. Mahendran’s family had reported an after-tax profit of as much as Rs.10.1 billion for the 14 months from April 2015 to May 2016, the period during which Mr. Mahendran was the CB Governor. To put things into context, during the same period, the cumulative profit after-tax of its peers was just Rs.544 million. Now a key witness tells the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that Mr. Aloysius paid the lease of the then Finance Minister’s penthouse.
Some time back, President Maithripala Sirisena complained about a nexus of political heavyweights in his own government who had been defending the suspects of the former regime from being investigated for corruption. Does this one too sound like a nexus? 

Follow Ranga Jayasuriya @RangaJayasuriya on Twitter

Aloysius Gets Duminda Syndrome, Mahendran Had Threatened EPF Superintendent

JULY 31, 2017

Arjun Aloysius‘ lawyer today informed the Commission investigating the Bond Scam, that Aloysius had forgotten his apple I phone and lap top passwords. The Attorney Generals department reacted by saying that Aloysius is lying as he had used his password recently to update the system and download applications.

Arjun Aloysius

A new counsel representing Aloysius, Anuja Premarathne PC sought the commissions permission to take the SIM card in order to get another sim with the same number. However, the Attorney Generals department led by Deputy Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda objected. Kodagoda said that they could release all the devices within Two days if Aloysius coorperated and gave the passwords. He further said that if Aloysius doesn’t corporate they would use whatever means to crack the passwords and get to the device.

Earlier Aloysius told the commission that the most crucial device, the phone he used during the bondscam had been destroyed in Singapore.

Giving evidence at the commission today former EPF Chief Ananda Jayalath said that Arjun Mahendran insisted that Saman Kumara be put in the dealing room instead of the risk management unit.

Saman Kumara thereafter bought bonds from Perpetual Treasuries in the secondary market. He was called before the commission and it was revealed that Kumara had a massive asset base and was involved in many shady deals involving the EPF. Kumara was considered to be Mahendran’s closest associate.

Arjuna Mahendran

Jayalath said that he was informed of the questionable nature of Kumara’s character and refused to put him to the front office. The day after Kumara was transferred to the EPF, Mahendran had called and threatened Jayalath. Mahendran had insisted that Kumara be put in charge of the dealing room. Kumara thereafter had a free hand with buying shares.

Jayalath giving testimony further said that it was clear that Mahendran knew of every purchase made by Kumara. Citing examples of how the buying was done and how Mahendran was made aware, Jayalath said that Mahendran and Kumara seemed to work hand in hand.

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Watareka Vijitha Thero arrested

By Yusuf Ariff-August 1, 2017

Venerable Watareka Vijitha Thero, who is the general secretary of the Jathika Bala Sena organization, has been arrested by Fort Police.

He was arrested for behaving in an unruly manner in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. 

The Thero has reportedly been hospitalized following arrest.
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Gota yet to be charged over Rs. 90 m Rajapaksa memorial

*FCID seeks AG’s advice on Namal Rajapaksa

*Don’t target family members not in politics – Namal asks govt 

 

Aug 01, 2017

On July 28, the Colombo Fort magistrate’s court heard the case pertaining to the construction of D.A. Rajapaksa museum and memorial at Medamulana using Rs. 90 million from the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation. Former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is accused over the matter, but is yet to be named a suspect.

The media has reported that Gotabhaya is evading the accusations with the support of a senior female lawyer in the Attorney General’s Department, who is in charge of the case file. She maintains that his signature in relevant documents is unclear, reports say.

  Gemunu complains to Bribery Commission over NTC

2017-07-31 

Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) lodge a complaint to the Bribery Commission a short while ago over the National Transport Commission (NTC) and Transport Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva on the irregularities taken place when issuing the southern expressway route permits.

LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne alleged that the NTC has called off the southern expressway route permit tender and had awarded the temporary permits to the same bus owners without any transparency.

He said already the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) and the Bribery Commission conducting two separate investigations over the matter.

He also said the tender was withdrawn on two occasions on August 6, 2016 and July 14 this year.

“A route permit for the expressway is issued for five years. NTC is getting Rs. 750,000 per ermit annually. We have requested the permit for a greater price. Therefore government has incurred a loss of Rs 20 million as revenue because of ignoring the tender procedures,” he said. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)

 

Pix by Nisal Baduge

Pakistan’s Hour Of Glory & Sri Lanka’s Hour Of Shame

By Rajeewa Jayaweera –AUGUST 1, 2017

Rajeewa Jayaweera

A five-member bench of supreme court judges in Pakistan, in a landmark decision, has disqualified Nawaz Sharif from the office of Prime Minister. Sharif’s disqualification is on grounds he lied of his assets during a corruption probe.   

The court has referred Sharif and his Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, his former accountant, to the Corruption Court.

Accusations against Sharif revolves around ownership of four apartments in Park Lane, a neighborhood of the wealthy, in London.

The Panama Papers, an unprecedented leak of 11.5 mil. files from the database of the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca, indicated Sharif’s three children Hussain, Hasan and Maryam owned three off-shore companies registered in British Virgin Islands, engaged in deals worth USD 25 mil. 

The Sharifs claimed, money had been obtained from the sale of a steel mill in UAE and invested with the former Prime Minister of Qatar. Rejecting the explanation, the supreme court constituted a high-powered team to investigate the matter.

During the course of its investigations, the team uncovered the fact, Sharif himself had been the Chairman of a UAE based company, Capital FZE, which he had not declared previously.

The supreme court ruling, disqualifying Sharif from holding office is based on non-disclosure of his involvement with Capital FZE in wealth disclosures, mandatory for all parliamentarians in that country. It is Sharif’s contention, assets being in his children’s names, he is not liable to declare such assets nor pay taxes on such assets.        

Despite corruption being endemic in Pakistan and democratic institutions weakened due to successive coups d’état since independence in 1947, Pakistan’s judiciary, in this instance, has demonstrated its independence and unwavering commitment to the rule of law. It has also upheld the principle, ‘no one is above the law’.

In what is perhaps Pakistan’s finest hour since independence, it joins the small and elite group of nations of Brazil, South Korea, Venezuela and USA to have disqualified a sitting head of state / government from office, for corruption. 

Mossack Fonseca notified its clients on April 1, 2016 that it had sustained an email hack. Pakistan’s Prime Minister announced his resignation sixteen months later, on July 27, 2017.

Back at home, we in Sri Lanka are still grappling with investigating the Central Bank bond scam which took place on February 27, 2015 resulting in the loss of over Rs 10 billion to the state coffers.

Twenty-nine months on, the scam is being investigated for the fourth time.

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Pakistan made an example for Sri Lanka!

A Rajapaksa Front Company Investment US$ 7.0 billion

Portraits of poverty: Powerful images capture the children, elderly, mystics and snake-charmers in Pakistan who survive against the odds on as little as £1.30 a day

Tuesday, 1 August 2017

Last week, Nawaz Sharif stepped down as Prime Minister of Pakistan following a unanimous decision made by a five-member bench of the country’s Supreme Court.  

The Supreme Court held that Sharif had been dishonest by not disclosing his earnings received from a Dubai-based company in his nomination papers for the 2013 general election. Following the 2015 ‘Panama papers’ revelations, which disclosed some offshore assets belonged to Sharif’s children, this probe was carried out into the wealth of the Sharif family.

Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, in his summing up, said that Prime Minister Sharif was no longer eligible to be an honest member of the parliament.

Further, the Supreme Court of Pakistan determined and recommended anti-corruption prosecution against several individuals. They included; Nawaz Sharif himself, his daughter Maryam, his son-in-law Safdar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and some others.

The writer believes that this sets an appropriate and timely example for Sri Lanka as well!

José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International (TI) said: “In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity.” This is where we stand right now, unfortunately!

According to Corruption Perception Index (2016) of TI Pakistan and Sri Lanka were ranked 116th & 95th (scored 36 points out of 100) respectively (1st Denmark and New Zealand being the least corrupt countries out of 176). On the surface, Sri Lanka looked better relatively, but we all know where we stand.

Now, before going any further, we must examine how the law works in practical terms in Sri Lanka and Pakistan for the wrongdoers of this nature.

A few days ago, we saw a former Deputy Minister Sarana Gunewardena pleading guilty for failing to declare his assets and liabilities from 2005-2007. The judge just fined him 2m000 bucks ($ 13)! The writer believes that this was just what has been allowed by the law and judge’s hands were tied.

In the case of Pakistan, we saw a politician declared; ‘dishonest and not fit to be in Parliament’ for a similar violation of law that the former Deputy Minister Gunewardena committed.

The writer (a layman on law) begins to think that not declaring assets in time, pleading guilty and paying a peanut fine could be much better in monetary terms for the rogues, compared with a situation of declaring assets before and getting caught for illegally acquired wealth, at the end of the tenure!

On the other hand, every day, we hear about the investigations and court cases that are pending against the politicians and officials of the former regime. Also, we now hear some revelations taking place at Presidential Commissions about some politicians in office. All of them should be taken to task, of course on proper grounds, irrespective of their positions, connections or colours, for the sake of the country.

So, where does Sri Lanka stand? The writer believes that Sri Lanka is no better (compared with Pakistan), in terms of corruption, irrespective of the TI index, in real fact! While the authorities do their best to punish the culprits according to the existing laws, we need a complete overhaul on our legal system urgently!

The new set of laws should be contemporary, far-sighted, practical, empathetic (on the right people), versatile, enforceable, durable and simple in order to bring justice, equality and fair-play to all our citizens equally.

(The writer is a borderless thinker and futurist. His email is galhena@yahoo.co.uk)

G4S complicit in Israel’s attempt to take over al-Aqsa

A video screenshot shows G4S vehicles carrying equipment Israel used to restrict Palestinian access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Ali Abunimah-31 July 2017

Palestinians are raising the alarm that global security giant G4S was involved in Israel’s thwarted plan to tighten control over the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

The holy site was the focus of two weeks of sustained protest and civil disobedience by Palestinians in Jerusalem that forced Israel to remove metal detectors at the gates of the compound and then to abandon plans to install high-tech cameras.

Last week, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) said that FST Biometrics, the company expected to supply the “smart” surveillance cameras that Israel planned to install, “is a partner of AMAG Technology, a company owned by G4S.”

The BNC pointed to video evidence of G4S vehicles carrying security equipment used by Israeli occupation forces to restrict Palestinian access to the al-Aqsa mosque:

مركبات شركة G4S تحمل #البوابات_الإلكترونية قبل نصبها أمام #المسجد_الأقصى صباح الأحد في #القدس، بينما تؤمن عدداً من الشركات والمؤسسات العربية pic.twitter.com/0AFaU98p7W

— حركة مقاطعة اسرائيل (@BDS_Arabic) July 20, 2017

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حركة مقاطعة اسرائيل @BDS_Arabic

مركبات شركة G4S تحمل #البوابات_الإلكترونية قبل نصبها أمام #المسجد_الأقصى صباح الأحد في #القدس، بينما تؤمن عدداً من الشركات والمؤسسات العربية

6:08 AM - Jul 20, 2017

•  1010 Replies
 
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Palestinians see the Israeli moves as a major step in long-term Israeli plans to eventually take over the compound completely and to strangle Palestinian life in Jerusalem.

Israeli political and religious leaders regularly urge the destruction of the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock and their replacement with a Jewish temple.

Last year, under sustained pressure from activists, G4S dumped most of its business with Israel, where it helps run prisons and other elements of the apparatus of military occupation against Palestinians.

But the global security and incarceration firm has retained some ties, including through Policity, a police training center it jointly owns with Israeli settlement builder Shikun & Binui.

Vigilance despite victory

By forcing Israel to back down for now over the al-Aqsa metal detectors and cameras, Palestinians in Jerusalem have scored what even Israeli media acknowledge is a victory.

But with Israeli politicians and media continuing to incite the removal of the Muslim holy sites, there is no room for complacency either about Israel’s plans or the companies that assist it.

“In the past few months it has become clear that G4S intends to remain deeply complicit with Israel’s regime of occupation, colonialism and apartheid despite the sale of its Israeli affiliate, which continues to trade under the ‘G4S Israel’ name and uses the G4S logo,” the BNC stated.

It noted that ongoing campaigns against G4S’ complicity have scored recent victories in Lebanon, Ecuador and the United States.

The BNC urged “renewed grassroots campaigns for boycott and divestment from G4S” to bring its complicity to an end once and for all.

'Traitors, filth, murderers': Turkish protesters berate accused in mass coup trial

Protesters throw nooses at line of 468 defendants, including 41 ranking officers, as they are led into first day of coup trial in Ankara

 

Suraj Sharma-Tuesday 1 August 2017

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Cries of "traitor" and "murderer" rang out and nooses were thrown in their path as 41 former high-ranking military officers were marched single file and in handcuffs to a custom-built courthouse on Tuesday, when one of the biggest trials in Turkish history got under way.

The 41 are the most high-ranking among 486 former military staff put on trial for their alleged role in a botched coup attempt carried out last July, which left 249 civilians dead and more than 2,000 wounded.

Most of the 486 on trial in Ankara’s Sincan district were based at the Akinci air force base located in the district, and which was the operations centre during the coup attempt. Others on trial are former officers from military bases in Adana and Incirlik where refuelling aircraft took off during the putsch.   

Flanked on both sides by gendarmes and also by fully armed crack units of the Turkish armed forces, the 41 suspects were marched single file to the 1,500 person-capacity courthouse built last year specifically for this trial.

Up front was Kemal Batmaz, a businessman known as the civilian imam at Akinci, followed by Akin Ozturk, a former four-star general. The defendants on Tuesday included pilots who bombed the capital Ankara last July.

General Akin Ozturk on 17 July, 2016 after his arrest (AA)

Adil Oksuz, a theology lecturer considered to be the primary Gulenist at the Akinci base, remains on the run. He was initially taken into custody right after the coup attempt but was subsequently released.

Authorities hold Fethullah Gulen and his followers embedded in various state institutions responsible for the coup attempt.

Gulen, a US-based Turkish Islamic preacher, denies the charge.

More than 50,000 people have so far been arrested for their involvement with Gulen, with more than 7,000 military personnel among them.

This trial, frequently called the Akinci trial, is expected to last for at least a year. The indictment alone prepared by the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office is 4,058 pages.

Metal fences were erected to keep hundreds of angry protesters from physically attacking the defendants. The protesters included relatives of those killed or wounded during the coup attempt.

Police had to stop protesters from attempting to scale the fences.

You cannot exist as long as our race exists. You can have no haven. You will drown in your own filth

- member of public in court

Along with the nooses thrown at the defendants amid cries of traitor, the crowd also waved orange jumpsuits protesting the civilian attire the defendants were allowed to wear.

The idea of Guantanamo Bay-style orange jumpsuits was first mooted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 15 July after one defendant in a related case appeared at a hearing wearing a t-shirt that had the word 'Hero' printed on the front.

Tensions carried over into the court itself as relatives of the victims traded barbs with the defendants’ lawyers.

One man believed to be a relative of a civilian who was killed shouted: "You cannot exist as long as our race exists. You can have no haven. You will drown in your own filth."

The lawyers of the defendants banged their desks in protest at such remarks.  

Protesters outside the court hold placards saying the AKP is watching the case (AFP)

Selfet Giray, the chief judge hearing the case, warned that he would have to eject some people from the room if calm was not maintained.

"We are judging here in the name of the Turkish nation and on the basis of the law of the republic of Turkey," he said.

"We understand your pain and rage but those unable of standing it should leave.

"Everyone should abide by the court’s rules for us to be able to conduct a healthy trial."

Of the 486 people on trial, 461 are currently incarcerated in nearby Sincan prison, 18 are being tried without being held and seven are fugitives.

More than 1,000 gendarmerie forces were assigned to provide security in the courthouse and the vicinity on Tuesday.

Air defence systems, snipers, sniffer dogs, drones, armoured vehicles and water cannon vehicles were also deployed.

Observers from the presidency, the ruling Justice and Development Party and the opposition Republican People’s Party were present at the hearing.

Families of the victims have been calling for the death sentence for the coup plotters. Erdogan has backed their demand, repeatedly saying he will sign off on a law restoring the death penalty if put in front of him.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004.

The hearings for this batch of defendants are expected to continue until 29 August.