Turkey's leftist anti-AKP journalist to be taken to court over the weekend

Selcuk, 85, was taken into custody on Friday around 4.30 am from his home. Selcuk's custody under the Ergenekon operation drew fierce criticism, some saying it reminded the events happened during the military junta in 1960s and 1970s. Â

Selcuk is taken before the judge, who will decide whether to arrest or release following his interrogation completed, news agencies reported. Justice Ministry officials earlier told hurriyet.com.tr the way of taking Selcuk into custody, which drew fierce criticism, was the decision of the security officials, adding it's not an ordinary exercise and there was no such order from the prosecutor.

Critics have said Selcuk was accompanied by two bodyguards appointed by Interior Ministry and had no way to escape so that he should have been invited for interrogation instead of taking into custody while he was sleeping.

In the operation 11 more people were taken into custody in Friday's operation including Workers' Party leader Dogu Perincek and former rector of Istanbul University Prof. Kemal Alemdaroglu. Perincek was taken into custody in Ankara and brought to Istanbul for interrogation, the official Anatolian Agency reported.             Â

Turkish police has searched branches of Workers' Party and private TV channel Ulusal Kanal in Istanbul. "Police staged simultaneous operations at the branches of Workers' Party, Ulusal  Kanal and Aydinlik magazine in Istanbul and Ankara around 4-4:30 a.m. this morning," Erkan Onsel, deputy chairman of the party, told reporters.

There is no official statement or indictment on the Ergenekon Operation. But private Star TV reported on Friday Selcuk was taking under custody with the claims of "taking over a mission on behalf of an organization without being the member of the organization".

CUMHURIYET IS ANTI-AKP
Analysts say Selcuk's detention is a new episode in the secularists and Islamist groups' struggle for power. Cumhuriyet is among the strongest opponents of the AKP government in media.

High-level AKP officials, including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, have said the closure case against the ruling party was launched to cover up the Ergenekon operation.

Selcuk is a very important and prominent figure in Turkey's leftist political movement. He was arrested in 1970s following a military-declared state of emergency. He has been writing columns in leftist Cumhuriyet daily, which became the symbol of anti-AKP movement, since 1963 and published number of books such as "I Think Therefore Shoot Me", "Left-Right-Sharia".

Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday in front of the Cumhuriyet building in Istanbul to protest Selcuk's custody and called the government to resign. Similar demonstrations were held at the Workers' Party building in Ankara.Â

Ibrahim Yildiz, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, told journalists on Friday Selcuk's detention reminded the events of military intervention into politics from 1971 and 1980.
 

CHP: "DEEP STATE OF AKP" 

The leader of main opposition leftist CHP accused AKP of trying to create its own "deep state." "Turkey is being dragged into a very dangerous conflict. This process is not consistent with democracy," Deniz Baykal told in a televised news conference in Ankara.

The socialist independent MP Ufuk Uras also showed reaction to Selcuk's detention on Friday, saying such threatening actions against journalists are hurting the public concisness and increasing concerns on judiciary. "Those exercises should be consistent with law and fundamentals of democracy. Such anti-democratic and threatening behaviors cause question marks in the soceity" he said in a statement on Friday.Â

 

ERGENEKON OPERATION

The probe against the Ergenekon gang started after hand grenades that were issued to security forces were seized at the home of a retired military officer in Istanbul last June. A retired military commander and a lawyer were among those arrested earlier. A total of 39 people have been arrested under the investigation.

Authorities have not commented publicly on the investigation, and most reports about the investigation have emerged in local media and are based on anonymous sources. The Ergenekon gang was suspected of being behind a series of bombings on the Cumhuriyet newspaper offices carried out last year, Turkish media have said previously.

Newspapers have said the group had been plotting a series of bomb attacks and assassinations and were behind the killing of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.