Ex-Turkish generals charged over alleged coup plot

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

ISTANBUL (AFP) — A Turkish court has charged two retired generals in connection with a shadowy grouping that allegedly planned to oust the government, the Anatolia news agency reported Sunday.

Hursit Tolon and Sener Eruygur, former four-star generals, were charged with "setting up and leading an armed gang" and remanded in custody, media reports said.

They were among 21 suspects -- most of them known government critics -- rounded up Tuesday in dawn raids in five cities as part of a controversial probe into a network called Ergenekon, which allegedly aimed to discredit and oust the country's Islamist-rooted ruling party.

The detentions came at a time when the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) was defending itself in court against a possible ban...