Turkey Charges Alleged Coup Plotters | Voice of America - English
Istanbul's chief prosecutor says 86 people will be prosecuted under terrorism laws for attempting to overthrow the government.  Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul the indictments were made while the ruling Islamic AK Party is facing closure  on charges of undermining the secular state.
Istanbul chief prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin told a news conference the 86 defendants have been indicted on terror charges. He says the indictment covers crimes such as forming an armed terror group and attempting to overthrow the government by force. Thenearly 2,500-page indictment is the culmination of a 13-monthinvestigation sparked by the discovery of a cache of arms andexplosives in an Istanbul suburb. The investigation, held in secretunder Turkey 's strict anti-terror laws, led to the detention of dozensof people, including alleged mafia members, businessmen and retiredmilitary officers. The prosecutor says the plotters sought to bring chaos to the country. Cengizsays the defendants will face charges of seeking to provoke civilunrest, public disorder offenses, provoking disobedience within thearmy, and possession of explosives. He says the court has to decidewhether to accept the case within 15 days. The allegedconspirators are claimed to have called their gang Ergenekon, the nameof a mythical land where Turks once were said to have sought refuge. Since1960, the army has forced four governments from office. The deputyeditor of the Turkish daily , Yasmin Congar, says the case is akey moment for Turkish democracy. "If people manage to get tothe roots of this Ergenekon gang and to basically kick them out of thestate structure, then we can become a democratic country," he said. "Ifwe do not do that it is going to be more coups, more interferences inpolitics by forces we do not know." But critics of theinvestigation have attacked both its methods and motivation. Many ofthose arrested have been held for months without charge. Criticsalso point out the last arrests were made on the same day Turkey'schief prosecutor presented a case to the constitutional court thatcalls for the closure of the ruling AK Party on charges of underminingthe country's secularism. The two cases are polarizing Turkishsociety, with both sides accusing the other of using the judiciary forpolitical purposes. Analysts say it is not only the defendants ontrial, but also Turkey's legal system.