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| Turkey Ergenekon trial: Ex-army chief Basbug gets life | Turkey Ergenekon trial: Ex-army chief Basbug gets life |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Turkey's former armed forces chief has been jailed for life for plotting to overthrow the government, after five years of trials involving officers, lawyers, writers and journalists. | |
| Gen Ilker Basbug was among dozens of people convicted of involvement in the so-called Ergenekon plot. | |
| Critics of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have accused him of staging show trials to eliminate his enemies. | |
| His supporters say the trials have pushed the military out of politics. | |
| Verdicts are being read out one by one at a specially constructed courtroom in Istanbul. | |
| Twenty-one people have been acquitted and some 40 convicted so far, including at least one journalist and a police chief. | |
| Gen Basbug, who led the military between 2008 and 2010, had rejected all the charges against him. | Gen Basbug, who led the military between 2008 and 2010, had rejected all the charges against him. |
| The plot allegedly aimed to topple the government led by Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). | |
| The defendants faced charges ranging from membership of "Ergenekon", an alleged underground terrorist network, to illegally possessing weapons and instigating an armed uprising against the AKP. | |
| Prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment for Gen Basbug and 63 others, including nine other generals. | Prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment for Gen Basbug and 63 others, including nine other generals. |
| The court is sitting at the high-security Silivri prison complex, west of Istanbul, where the general is being held. | The court is sitting at the high-security Silivri prison complex, west of Istanbul, where the general is being held. |
| Hundreds of riot police fired tear gas to disperse some 1,000 protesters who were marching outside the courthouse, reports say. | Hundreds of riot police fired tear gas to disperse some 1,000 protesters who were marching outside the courthouse, reports say. |
| The case is being seen as a key test in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's showdown with secularist and military opponents. | The case is being seen as a key test in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's showdown with secularist and military opponents. |
| Since Mr Erdogan came to power in 2002, hundreds of military officers - serving or retired - have been arrested. | Since Mr Erdogan came to power in 2002, hundreds of military officers - serving or retired - have been arrested. |
| Critics say there is little evidence for the charges and accuse the government of trying to silence its secularist opponents. | |
| Critics have complained that the Ergenekon investigation has focused on opponents of the AKP. | |
| The government denies any such motive. | |
| Turkey's military has long seen itself as the guarantor of the country's secular constitution. | Turkey's military has long seen itself as the guarantor of the country's secular constitution. |
| It staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and has a history of tension with the AKP. | It staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and has a history of tension with the AKP. |
| The AKP is considered a successor to the Welfare Party, an Islamist party that led a 1996-97 government forced to resign by an army-led campaign. | The AKP is considered a successor to the Welfare Party, an Islamist party that led a 1996-97 government forced to resign by an army-led campaign. |