05/04/2010 13:01
Turkish Court orders to re-arrest 19 officers
The Court of Istanbul ordered on Sunday to re-arrest 19 serving and retired military officers charged over an alleged plot to overthrow the government, broadcaster CNN Turk reported yesterday.
According to Reuters, among the nineteen officers, 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. Their arrest in February caused tensions between the secularist establishment and the Islamist- rooted government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The officers are accused of the alleged 2003 “sledgehammer” plot, which involved plans to overthrow the government and to separate church and government.