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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court on Monday ordered a journalist arrested pending trial as part of an investigation into an alleged conspiracy against hundreds of military officers who were convicted in 2012 of plotting to overthrow the government, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Mehmet Baransu was detained for questioning in the probe into allegations that the military officers were framed by followers of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric — a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has now turned into a government foe.
Anadolu said Baransu was charged on Monday with procuring and destroying documents related to state interests.
In 2010, Baransu's Taraf newspaper published what it said was evidence showing that the officers plotted against the government in 2003. Baransu later provided a suitcase-load of documents to prosecutors, including CDs that purported to prove the coup plans.
The officers had long claimed that the evidence was fabricated, but many of the hundreds of officers received sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment.
Last year, the country's highest court ruled that the suspects' right to a fair trial had been violated, paving the way for their release from prison and re-trial.
The original trial had helped curtail the military's hold on Turkish politics, but the case was marred by the suspects' long pre-trial confinement and judicial flaws, including the allegations of fabricated evidence.
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