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19 Serving And Retired Military Officers Face Rearrest In Turkey

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  • 19 Serving And Retired Military Officers Face Rearrest In Turkey

    19 SERVING AND RETIRED MILITARY OFFICERS FACE REARREST IN TURKEY

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    April 5, 2010 - 16:49 AMT 11:49 GMT

    An Istanbul court ordered on Sunday the rearrest of 19 serving and
    retired military officers charged over an alleged plot to overthrow
    the government, CNN Turk reported.

    Among the 19, who were freed from detention on Thursday pending
    trial, were retired four-star general Cetin Dogan, the former head
    of Turkey's First Army, and lieutenant-general Engin Alan, a former
    special forces commander.

    The officers are linked to the alleged 2003 "Sledgehammer" plot, which
    media reports say involved plans to bomb an historic mosque, shoot
    down a fighter jet and blame Greece, and arrest hundreds of thousands
    of people to destabilize and ultimately to overthrow the government.

    The military has denied such a plot. It has said Sledgehammer was
    part of a war-games scenario used at a training seminar.

    CNN Turk did not specify the court's reason for ordering their
    rearrest, which followed an appeal by prosecutors against their
    release.

    The 19 facing rearrest are 11 serving officers and eight retired ones.

    The armed forces have overthrown three governments in outright coups
    since 1960 and pressured Turkey's first Islamist-led administration
    to resign in 1997.

    Any fresh military attempt to intervene in politics is now regarded
    as highly unlikely. The army retains considerable influence in Turkey
    but its power has been eroded in recent years under political reforms
    encouraged by the European Union, which Turkey is bidding to join.
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