A Turkish court on Monday sentences 104 people to life in prison for involvement in a failed military coup in 2016, the Hurriyet newspaper says, in one of the heaviest penalties given since the attempt.

Turkey will grant early release to some 38,000 prisoners who committed crimes before July 1, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Wednesday, amid reports of prison overcrowding after the failed coup.

For the next three months, likely much longer, it seems, with a civilian-run state of emergency, Erdogan will be the strongman in Ankara as Gulenist cells in the country are rooted out.

In recent times, there have been many reports, mainly in the West, of unhappiness with Erdogan's Islamism and authoritarian style of governing, but no one thought that this would translate into a coup.

The truth of the matter is that military intervention in politics or attempted usurpation of power is an imposition on the people and is never supported by them.

The enigmatic coup-attempt in Turkey on the night of July 15 and 16 signals something ominous about the future of Turkey, NATO, and the entire region.

At the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets are reported to have Erdogan's plane in their sights, and yet he was able to fly on.

We rejoice at the failure of the attempted coup in Turkey, thwarted with the help of the people, the first of its kind perhaps in recent times when the armed coup-makers submitted to an unarmed public.