Turkish Coup Trial Puts Military on Defensive

A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant Friday for 102 suspects, among them senior military figures, charged over an alleged 2003 coup plan, media reports said.The court also set the first hearing in the high-profile case for December 16 in a prison complex near Istanbul, said judge Davut Bedir as he announced the warrant, Anatolia news agency reported.Two senior serving admirals and three retired generals were among the suspects included on the warrant, according to the NTV news channel.

Turkey's military on Wednesday blocked the promotions of generals and admirals indicted over an alleged 2003 coup plot, avoiding a confrontation with the government, a report said.The chiefs of staff sent the government a list of promotions after an annual meeting, excluding 11 senior officers who are facing charges of conspiring to topple the Islamist-rooted administration, the NTV news channel said.

I summoned courage to finally draw back the curtains and leaned cautiously through my open window into the warm night. The dark horizon was backlit by flickers of red, yellow and orange. The sounds that had been muffled earlier echoed back into my room on the fourth floor of my hotel, amplifying loud voices, heavy engines, and the repeat of gunfire.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A social media editor who has worked for two of the nation’s largest news-gathering organizations pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he conspired with the hacking group Anonymous to deface the Los Angeles Times’ website. Matthew Keys, 26, made his first appearance in federal court since he was charged last month, but he made no comments. Keys is charged with giving the hacking group Anonymous the login credentials to the computer system of The Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other media properties.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A social media editor who has worked for two of the nation’s largest news-gathering organizations pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he conspired with the hacking group Anonymous to deface the Los Angeles Times’ website. Matthew Keys, 26, made his first appearance in federal court since he was charged last month, but he made no comments. Keys is charged with giving the hacking group Anonymous the login credentials to the computer system of The Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other media properties.

Seven suspects were remanded in custody Wednesday over an alleged coup plot against Turkey's Islamist-rooted government in 2003, as part of a probe that has fanned tensions in the polarised country.An Istanbul court ruled the suspects -- two active-duty admirals, two retired admirals, a retired one-star general and two retired colonels -- should be kept in jail pending trial, Anatolia news agency reported.

Five generals and an admiral were among a group of soldiers who appeared before prosecutors Friday to answer questions over an alleged 2003 coup plot, Anatolia news agency reported.They were summoned as part of an expanding probe into "Operation Sledgehammer", an alleged plan to overthrow the Islamist-rooted government, which has already landed some 200 soldiers in court and fanned political tensions in Turkey, Anatolia said.There were conflicting reports about how many soldiers in total had been summoned for questioning.

Turkish courts on Friday ordered the release from jail of three retired generals and a prosecutor who were allegedly involved in separate plots to topple the government, Anatolia news agency said.The two cases against the suspects are at the centre of simmering tensions pitting the Islamist-rooted government against the judicial elite and the army over several alleged coup plans hatched by secularist forces.