Turk court rejects appeal against Ergenekon releases

The chief prosecutor, Zekeriya Oz, appealed on Tuesday against the releases of Balbay; Ilker Guven, a retired Admiral; Ufuk Buyukcelebi, the editor-in-chief of "Halka ve Olaylara Tercuman" newspaper; Tunc Akkoc of the Worker's Party (IP); Prof. Dr. Ercument Ovali; businessman Siyami Yalcin; TV correspondent Murat Avar; Hamza Demir and Neriman Aydin.   Â

The court rejected the chief prosecutor’s appeal against the release of Balbay, Buyukcelebi, Akkoc and Demir on Wednesday.

In the latest wave of the Ergenekon operation, which came on the same day the chief prosecutor presented his verbal arguments in the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), 21 people were detained, including two retired generals, journalists and a prominent business leader.

 

Ten people were placed behind bars after a court formally ordered their arrest. The Ergenekon organization is accused of provoking events that would pave the way for a military coup to overthrow the AKP government, although the indictment in the case and the charges are yet to be clarified.

Analysts agree that the Ergenekon operation is a new stage in the "power struggle between the AKP and hard-line secularists".

Photo: AA