7 arrested over Turkish coup plot case
Updated: 2011-08-13 17:24
(Xinhua)
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ISTANBUL - Six officers and one civil service employee were arrested in Istanbul on Saturday charged with involvement in a plot to topple the Turkish government.
An Istanbul court ordered the arrest of six colonels and one civil service employee while releasing two other officers in the Sledgehammer coup plot case, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
The Sledgehammer coup plot case is an alleged plan drawn up by officers in the powerful Turkish Armed Forces to topple the government by creating situations which included bombing a mosque and shooting down a Greek air force jet.
The Turkish military has claimed these were just training scenarios.
The conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been trying to curb the military's influence in politics since it came to power in 2002.
The fiercely secular military, meanwhile, eyes the AKP with deep suspicion due to its conservative and Islamist roots.
The Turkish military has carried out three coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980. It also forced the government to resign in 1997.
Around 200 people are facing trial in the Sledgehammer case.
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