Kenan Evren along with former air force commander Sahinkaya sentenced to life in prison for staging the 1980 coup.

Evren was accused of setting the stage for a military intervention and then conducting the coup.

Former Turkish President Kenan Evren and former Air Force Commander Tahsin Sahinkaya have been jailed for life for their roles in the military coup of September 1980, according to state media.

Evren, 96, and Sahinkaya, 89, had been accused of setting the stage for a military intervention and then conducting the coup.

The coup set the stage for a military regime under which thousands were tortured, hundreds sentenced to death and many more vanished and ushered in an era of military dominance in Turkish politics.

Evren was elected president in 1982 and held the seat for the seven years that followed.

The country was governed by a military government until the parliamentary elections of November 1983.