Nine suspects, including generals, arrested in Feb. 28 so-called postmodern coup trial in Turkish capital Ankara.

Ankara / NationalTurk – An Ankara court has ordered the arrest of nine retired and active duty high-rank military officers who were detained on Thursday in the third wave of detentions being carried out as part of an investigation into the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed military intervention.

Thirteen suspects were taken to the Ankara Courthouse on Thursday where they testified to prosecutors, and 11 of them were referred to the court for arrest. Retired Col. Mehmet Aygüner and retired Sgt. Şeref Kavalalı were released by the court pending trial. Specially authorized prosecutors Mustafa Bilgili and Kemal Çetin are conducting the postmodern coup from 28th February 1997  investigation.

Arrests continue in the payback trial of Turkey’s first postmodern coup

In the third wave of detentions 13 military officers, including the chief of the military’s counterintelligence unit, were detained on Wednesday, bringing the total number of retired or active duty officers to have been detained in the investigation so far to 55. Seven of the latest detainees are retired officers, while six are currently on active duty.

All are accused of involvement in the West Study Group (BÇG), the military clique that investigation of the antisecular coalition government which led to the Feb. 28 intervention. The detained include former gendarmerie commander Gen. Fevzi Türkeri and retired Gen. Yıldırım Türker, both of whom were taken to the courthouse in the capital on Thursday and arrested later in the day.

During the Feb. 28 coup era, Türkeri was the head of the General Staff’s counter-intelligence and security department. He is remembered for his frequent briefings of the media on the growing threat of Islamic reactionaryism. At the time Türker served as head of the personnel department of the General Staff. Currently, he is head of the military-affiliated private corporation the Turkish Armed Forces Assistance Center (OYAK)

[adrotate banner=”33″]