Senior generals remanded to prison over Turkey coup bid

By Yunus Ege, Murat Kaya Istanbul and Durmus Kocak

ISTANBUL (AA) - Thirteen senior military officers accused of involvement in Turkey’s failed coup were remanded to custody by a court in Istanbul on Monday.

Lt. Gen. Erdal Ozturk, commander of the 3rd Army; Maj. Gen. Fethi Alpay, head of the air force academy; Maj. Gen. Mehmet Ozlu, 3rd air base commander in Konya, were among those detained.

Other senior officers included Maj. Gens. Haluk Sahar, Serdar Gulbas, Saban Umut, Irfan Can, Erdal Akyildiz, Imdat Bahri Biber and Ahmet Bicer; Brigs. Ozkan Aydogdu and Eyyup Gurler; and Rear Adm. Omer Mesut Ak.

They were detained by the 10th Court of Peace on charges of establishing and being members of an armed terrorist organization and attempting a coup.

Separately, 99 alleged plotters were remanded in Ankara, including Brig. Hakan Evrim, the commander of the Akinci air base northwest of Ankara that is said to have acted as the coup headquarters. They were charged with establishing an armed terrorist organization, attempt to abolish the constitutional order and “intentional killing”.

More than 6,000 suspects have been arrested in connection with Friday’s coup attempt, including military figures, judges and police officers. They are accused of links to U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, who is said to have pursued a long-running campaign against the government through supporters within the Turkish state.

Gulen is the main suspect in two investigations launched into the attempted coup by Istanbul prosecutors, judicial sources told Anadolu Agency on Sunday on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

* Can Erozden contributed to this report from Ankara.