Top ex-soldier indicted in e-coup case

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

Former Chief of General Staff Başbuğ faces life in prison in alleged coup case. DAILY NEWS photo

An Istanbul criminal court accepted an indictment yesterday against former General Chief of Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ in connection with the ongoing Internet Memorandum case.
 
The prosecution has requested aggravated life imprisonment for the country’s former top general, who stands accused of orchestrating propaganda efforts over the Internet to provoke political unrest in the country in accordance with the aims of the alleged Ergenekon gang.

The 39-page indictment also implicates former Başbuğ for allegedly attempting to stymie the government by means of force and violence, according to reports.

The court delegation consisting of chief justice Hüseyin Özese and judges Sedat Sami Haşıloğlu and Ercan Fırat unanimously accepted indictment but deferred the decision over whether to merge the case with the probe into the “Action Plan for the Fight against Fundamentalism.”

An Istanbul court arrested Başbuğ on Jan. 6 as part of the investigation into the action plan. The former general flatly denied having issued any directives in relation to the plan, rejecting all the other charges leveled against him as well.

The Internet Memorandum case refers to a document allegedly crafted by the Turkish General Staff calling for the establishment of 42 Internet sites to distribute propaganda against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and others.

Ergenekon is an alleged ultranationalist gang accused of plotting to overthrow the government by fomenting chaos in society.