Fifty-six more people were indicted today on charges of plotting to overthrow Turkey's Islamist-rooted AK Party government, and local media said two retired generals were among the suspects.
The investigation into an ultra-nationalist group known as Ergenekon has rattled financial markets and increased political tensions between the government and secularists in the European Union-candidate country. Eighty-six people, including retired senior officers, are already on trial for links to Ergenekon.
The state-run Anatolian news agency said the Istanbul prosecutor had submitted a 1,900-page indictment accusing the suspects of attempting to overthrow the government and inciting armed insurrection.
Local media said retired General Sener Eruygur, a former commander of the gendarmerie forces, and retired General Hursit Tolon, a former army commander, were named in the indictment. The two were arrested last year but released due to poor health.
In the last 50 years, the military has unseated four elected governments in the predominantly Muslim NATO country either in outright coups or by strong political pressure.
The military has criticised the investigation and denied any links to an alleged plot to conduct bombings and assassinations to clear the way for a coup.
The shadowy Ergenekon group first came to light more than a year ago when a cache of explosives was discovered in a police raid on an Istanbul house.
Some observers see the investigation, which has targeted many government critics, as revenge for a failed 2008 court case to ban the party for anti-secular activities. The AK Party rejects this.
Reuters