Wed, March 03, 2010
ISTANBUL, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The lawyers of retired Turkish general Cetin Dogan who was arrested as part of a coup plot investigation last week appealed for his release here on Tuesday.
Local television NTV reported that his lawyers submitted a 13-page appeal at the Istanbul 10th Criminal Court. The appeal didn't request Dogan's release for health reasons but rather demanded a full release.
Dogan, a former commander of the First Army, is alleged to have his signature on the actual document detailing the "Balyoz (Sledgehammer) Plan," a plan to incite national instability to pave the way for a coup.
Earlier, reports said the coup plot allegedly drafted in 2003 sought to incite chaos to force a military takeover.
The plot has reportedly included bombing of mosques and shooting down of Turkey's own jets.
As the second wave of the detaining operation, Turkish police detained 18 more officers in 13 different provinces on Friday last week in an ongoing probe over an alleged coup plot.
The latest arrest brings the total number of military officers under custody since Monday to more than 80.
