TURKEY - COUP PLOT - 14 JUL 2008

[BMT (RIP)]

Prosecutors on Monday indicted 86 secular Turks - including high-ranking
ex-military officials - on terrorism charges for their alleged involvement in plots
to topple the Islamic-rooted government. Secularist opposition accuses the national
government of pushing an Islamic agenda on the historically secular country, and
say that the charges are part of the government's campaign to silence its critics.


The charges come as the nation's Constitutional Court is considering a case against
the ruling AK Party, in which it is accused of aiming to introduce Sharia law in
Turkey, in contravention of strictly secular constitution. The Turkish prime minister
and president are named in that case and could be barred from office. They and the
party reject the charges, which they say are part of a campaign against the party.

Prosecutors filed charges at an Istanbul court against 86 people, 48 of whom are
already in custody.

These charges also come a week after a country-wide series of raids targeted the
ultra-nationalist group known as Ergenekon and netted 21 suspects. During one
of those raids, police allegedly found a secret plan calling for an outbreak of
violence against the Turkish government on 7 July, but none of threatened violence
materialized.