ANKARA - A former head of Turkey's armed forces is to go on trial after judges agreed on Wednesday there were sufficient grounds to prosecute him on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.The trial of General Ilker Basbug, military chief of staff from 2008 to 2010, is one of a series of prosecutions and judicial inquiries that have engulfed the former secular establishment, but have also now touched on figures close to the government, suggesting a power struggle within the state.
Basbug, held in a high-security prison, is the most senior officer among hundreds of secularists charged with conspiring to topple Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government because of its roots in political Islam.