Turkey Begins Mass Retrial of Military 'Plotters'

An Istanbul court on Monday opened the retrial of more than 200 military officials accused of plotting against Turkey's Islamic-rooted government, after a top court in June quashed their original convictions.

A total of 236 defendants, including a number of high-ranking retired generals, were to appear before the court to testify on charges of seeking to bring down the government of now President, then prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2003.

Hilmi Ozkok, the former chief of staff who was summoned as a witness, told the court he "never received any information" about a coup plan.

"I never heard of such a plan. There were some rumors but they weren't serious enough to launch a probe or file a case," he was quoted as saying by private Dogan news agency.

In 2012, more than 300 retired and serving officers received prison sentences of up to 20 years after the court ruled that a military exercise dubbed Balyoz (Sledgehammer) was an undercover coup plot.

They were convicted of plotting to foment unrest by launching attacks on mosques and sending planes to provoke a conflict with Greece, in order to create the pretext for a coup.

Those convicted included the alleged mastermind of the conspiracy, former top army general Cetin Dogan, as well as former chiefs of staff of the navy and air force.

But in June, Turkey's top court ruled that the original trial was flawed and the rights of the military officers were violated, quashing the convictions and opening the way for the retrial.

It said much of the evidence against the accused had been acquired through illegal means, including wire-tapping.

Turkey's once-powerful military, which considers itself the self-appointed guardian of secular rule, has staged three coups since 1960 and forced out an Islamic government in 1997.

But Erdogan has clipped it wings through a series of trials, which have long been criticized by rights groups questioning their impartiality.