Two more arrests in Ergenekon case

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Both were transported to Istanbul from Ankara on Thursday and were a court was to decide on their arrest. After six hours of questioning, the Istanbul court decided to arrest the two, reported the Anatolia news agency. Both were detained last year as part of the same investigation but were later released pending the trial.

The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades on June 12, 2007, in a shanty house in Istanbul's Ümraniye district that belonged to a retired noncommissioned officer. The grenades were found to be the same as ones used in the attacks on Cumhuriyet daily’s Istanbul offices in 2006.

The findings led to scores of detentions, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders and politicians under interrogation in what turned into a terror investigation seeking to crack down on an alleged ultra-nationalist gang named Ergenekon, which sought to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 by initially spreading chaos and mayhem. Ergenekon is originally a pre-Islamic Turkish saga that tells of the Turks' re-emergence from defeat by tricking their enemies under the guidance of a gray wolf. Earlier bombings of daily Cumhuriyet, the murders of Hrant Dink and the Council of State’s top judge, and alleged plans for the assassination of high-profile figures have been associated with the case.

Balbay and Aydın are both known for their opposition to the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and some have criticized the investigation for seemingly targeting vocal opponents of the ruling party.

The trial is currently underway at a court in Istanbul’s Silivri district, with a supplementary indictment for more suspects expected in the near future.