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The Grand Turk
Turkish Ex-Army Chief on Trial for Alleged Coup Plots
2012-03-27
[An Nahar] Turkey's former army chief Ilker Basbug went on trial Monday on charges of leading a terrorist group accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamist-rooted government, local media said.

Basbug, who was chief of staff from 2008 to 2010, has been in jug since January and risks life in prison if convicted in a case that has inflamed tensions between the government and the powerful military.

He is the most senior officer to be implicated in a massive probe into the so-called Ergenekon network, accused of plotting to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Basbug, 68, branded the charges against him as "tragi-comic" when he was locked away in January.

At the start of the hearing in a court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, Basbug's lawyer called for his client to be tried by the supreme court but the demand was rejected, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Posted by:Fred

#1  Update:

Turkey's former armed forces chief General Ilker Basbug said on Tuesday he would not defend himself against terrorism charges, describing the allegations against him as a "comedy" and calling for his trial to be heard by the supreme court.
 
Basbug, accused of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government, told the court he had no respect for the indictment, saying the allegations were against the Turkish armed forces and were a serious insult to the state.
Posted by: trailing wife   2012-03-27 18:00  

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