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| Europe |
| Turkey: Colonels questioned in coup probe |
| 2009-07-01 |
| [ADN Kronos] Eight Turkish colonels arrived at a civilian court on Tuesday for questioning by prosecutors assigned to the country's controversial Ergenekon probe, Dogan News Agency reported. Navy Col. Dursun Cicek, who is suspected of drafting an alleged anti-government document, was not among the military officers who were to appear before the prosecutors. Ergenekon prosecutors had summoned Cicek and eight other colonels for questioning as part of the controversial probe. More than 200 people have been detained in the Ergenekon case launched in 2007. They were arrested 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. The controversial case, however, has divided Turkey, as many believe it has turned into a witch hunt targeting government critics. 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 |