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Turkey: Latest coup suspects released
[ADN Kronos] Turkish authorities on Friday released 14 people detained in the latest wave of arrests in relation to an alleged coup plot against the government, broadcaster CNNTurk reported. The 14 were among 20 people arrested on Thursday as part of an investigation into a weapons cache found in Istanbul's Poyrazkoy neighborhood in April. Ten serving military officers were among the detained in five provinces. Turkish military spokesman, Metin Gurak, however, told a weekly media briefing on Friday that an army major and a petty officer were detained in the operations which are part of the ongoing Ergenekon case. Launched in 2007, the Ergenekon case has detained more than 200 on suspicion of forming an illegal organisation to provoke a series of events that would pave the way to a military coup. About 140 people are already on trial in the case, including retired generals, lawyers and journalists. The Ergenekon operation was revealed in June 2007 when grenades were allegedly discovered in a house in Istanbul's Umraniye district. It is alleged to have exposed an illegal organisation that was planning events that would pave the way for a military coup to overthrow the ruling AKP government. Turkey's military has staged three coups and pressured a fourth government, the first led by Islamists to step down in 1997. Posted by: Fred 2009-06-06 |
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