162 Turkish officers ordered jailed in coup trial

[Cellis]

A Turkish court ruled Friday that 133 current and former military officers must be jailed pending the outcome of their trial on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and issued warrants for the arrests of 29 other officers, Anatolia news agency reported.

Security forces immediately closed all courthouse doors and detained the defendants, including the former air force and navy chiefs, broadcaster NTV reported. The officers began chanting military songs to protest the court's decision, the TV station reported.

The officers, including several high-ranking generals, are on trial accused of conspiring to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government in 2003. All but one officer had been free until Friday's hearing.



Full Article by Hurriyet (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=162-turkish-officers-ordered-jailed-in-coup-trial-2011-02-11)

[Mediocrates]

Is it legit? Or is this a political show trial?

[Cellis]

false proofs and witnesses. totally political.

[Cellis]

Sweep of arrests erases any doubt over who's the boss in Turkey (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=suspected-soldiers-of-turkey8217s-8216sledgehammer8217-alleged-coup-case-in-jail-2011-02-13)The ongoing arrests of more than 100 active officers as part of the “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) case have demonstrated the increasing confidence of the government in confronting a military that once held sway over Turkish political life.

An Istanbul court approved an arrest demand late Friday evening for 163 suspects in the alleged coup-plot case, including top suspect retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, the former commander of the 1st Army, and Özden Örnek and İbrahim Fırtına, the former top commanders of the Navy and Air Force, respectively.

Out of the 196 total suspects of the case, 167 were present at the Friday hearing and 133 were arrested immediately. The defendants face between 15 and 20 years in prison if convicted on charges of “attempting to topple the government by force.”

Seven more officers turned themselves in Saturday, raising the number of arrests to 140

[Mediocrates]

One of the problems Stalin confronted the first year of the Wehrmacht invasion is that he had been enormously successful in liquidating the entire senior officer corps of the Soviet army. There was no one left to be in command. As a result those initial losses were staggering.