Turkey frees colonel involved in anti-government plot

A senior military officer who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in an alleged army plan to discredit the ruling AK Party was released on Friday. He was freed after his lawyer raised objections to his arrest. An İstanbul court ruled Colonel Dursun Çiçek should be released since there was no danger he could flee. Çiçek's lawyer Mustafa Çevik said that his client was an active soldier and his arrest was unlawful. The investigation has stoked tensions between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan's government and the secularist military in the predominantly Muslim, European Union candidate country.

Colonel Dursun Çiçek was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of "membership of a terrorist group". Çiçek is regarded as the author of the plan targeting the government and an Islamic movement. He has denied the charge. Çiçek had been detained previously over suspected links to a separate plot to overthrow the government by a shadowy, nationalist group known as "Ergenekon". A trial on that alleged coup plot is under way.

Army suspicions that Erdoğan's AK Party has a hidden Islamist agenda and aims to undermine the country's staunch secular order have repeatedly triggered political strains in recent years, unsettling financial markets. The AK Party denies having such an agenda.

A plot to discredit the government was first unveiled in June by liberal newspaper Taraf, which said it had obtained a photocopy of a document drafted by Çiçek detailing the plan. The military said the document was a forgery and part of a smear campaign. It opened another investigation after newspapers reported an unnamed officer sent the original document of the suspected plot to a prosecutor. The military, which has ousted four governments in 50 years, has said it is committed to the rule of law.

13.11.2009

İSTANBUL REUTERS