Gen writes to jailed scribe from prison

Tolga Atilla ISTANBUL / Hürriyet

Former Chief of Gen Staff İlker Başbuğ, wrote a letter to arrested journalist Müyesser Yıldız from his prison cell saying he understands her solitude. AFP photo

Former Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ penned a letter to arrested journalist Müyesser Yıldız from his prison cell yesterday, expressing his solidarity with her plight and his desire for her immediate release.

“It has been nearly 2.5 months since [I] arrived at Silivri [prison]. I can now understand how difficult it is for you to stay in a ward all by yourself for nearly nine months. I learned from the press you would like to bring in a cat to lessen your solitude. ... Of course, what we truly want is your release in the shortest order,” Başbuğ told Yıldız in his letter.

Yıldız was arrested last year as part of the OdaTV wing of the Ergenekon trial.

Başbuğ also complained about the media’s differing attitudes toward arrested soldiers and journalists.
Başbuğ, chief of General Staff from 2008 to 2010, was sent to Silivri prison outside Istanbul on Jan. 6 after an Istanbul court ordered that he be remanded in custody while the prosecution completed its investigation and prepared formal charges for his role in the “Internet Memorandum” case, which is investigating an alleged army plot to discredit the government, among others. The Ergenekon case refers to an alleged coup plot aimed at toppling the government by fomenting chaos in society.