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Chaos mars trial of 86 accused in Turkey coup plot
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-21 10:37 Some 1,500 people gathered outside the courthouse in support of the defendants, holding Turkish flags and portraits of the suspects. They shouted slogans against the government as well as the United States and the European Union, reflecting the nationalist feeling of many Turks that outside influences seek to undermine their country.
"We want a fully independent Turkey," one sign read. Protesters also held posters of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the national founder who enshrined secularism as a way of life and restored Turkish pride after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. A small group of people who supported the trial gathered, but police kept them away from the larger group. Human rights activists say the case is an opportunity to unravel an illegal organization, strengthen democracy in Turkey and investigate possible involvement by people currently serving office, including military and intelligence personnel. "This case gives Turkey a chance to make clear that it will hold security forces accountable for abuse," said Benjamin Ward of New York-based Human Rights Watch. "But that can only happen if the investigation follows the evidence wherever and to whomever it leads." Prosecutors say the defendants were behind attacks or attempted attacks on prominent Turks. These included the 2006 assault on Turkey's administrative court that killed a judge and on the pro-secular Cumhuriyet newspaper, allegedly carried out by secularists impersonating Islamists. The violence led to secular demonstrations against the government. The indictment alleges the suspects planned to kill Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Nobel literature laureate Orhan Pamuk, prominent Kurdish politicians and the country's military chief. Some suspects face other charges, including possessing explosives, obtaining classified documents and provoking military disobedience. Most of the arrests happened after police raided the home of a retired noncommissioned officer in Istanbul last year and seized a cache of hand grenades. |
