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| Europe |
| Turkish court charges six more in coup plot |
| 2008-09-28 |
| An Istanbul court on Saturday charged six more people with membership of an alleged terrorist organisation suspected of plotting to overthrow Turkey's Islamic-oriented government. The court ordered the six, including prominent former officials, to be detained. They are the latest of about 100 people facing trial for alleged involvement with a shadowy nationalist group, or of plotting an armed uprising. The opposition say the criminal case is an act of political revenge by the ruling party against the secularist opposition, which has accused the government of trying to increase the role of Islam in Turkey. Turkey's Constitutional Court in July narrowly voted against disbanding Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party over accusations it was plotting to impose Islamic rule. But judges still cut off millions of dollars in state aid to the party. Police detained the six, who included a former senior policeman and an ex-mayor, on Tuesday and the court ordered them held Saturday to await trial. They are accused of being part of a nationalist network called Ergenekon, which takes its name from a legendary valley in Central Asia believed to be the ancestral homeland of Turks. Arrests of alleged members and plotters began last year, and included two former military generals, prominent government critics, a politician and a best-selling author. The first of a series of trials is due to start Oct. 20. Many of the suspects are known as fierce opponents of Erdogan's government and organised anti-government rallies attended by hundreds of thousands of secular Turks. Some of the suspects are charged with attacks or attempted attacks on institutions and prominent Turks to create chaos and lead to the government's overthrow. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Reichstag fire? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-09-28 07:04 |