Turkish prosecutors free top military officers

Three senior retired Turkish military officers were freed by prosecutors on Thursday, in a move that could help avert confrontation between the country's Islamist-rooted government and the secular armed forces.

It was not immediately clear if the officers, two of them former force commanders belonging to the very top echelon of the military, could still face charges in connection with the case.

Tensions between the military and ruling AK party have risen sharply following the detention on Monday of 50 senior officers accused of conspiring to topple Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government in 2003.

The showdown, in a country where the military has toppled four governments in the last 50 years, has rattled the Turkish currency and stocks, and fueled talk of an early election.

Prosecutors on Thursday evening released from custody the three most senior detainees -- retired air force commander Ibrahim Firtina, ex-navy chief Ozden Ornek, and a former deputy chief of general staff, Ergin Saygun, broadcasters reported.

Istanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor Turan Colakkadi said the commanders, who were first questioned in the probe late last year, were believed unlikely to interfere in the investigation which was ongoing.

"We don't believe they intend to destroy any evidence. And as they did not leave their places of residence after we let them go two to three months ago, we released them on the belief they would not attempt to escape this time either," Anatolian reported Colakkadi as saying.

Some 20 senior military officers have already been charged and remanded in custody in connection with a plot codenamed "Sledgehammer."

"I am here to illuminate an ongoing legal process, to explain the shortcomings and mistakes which have been presented as true, whether regarding myself, the Air Force, or the heroic Turkish Armed Forces. I believe I have done that sufficiently and I am now among you," state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Firtina as telling reporters.

President Abdullah Gul had earlier held crisis talks with Erdogan and General Ilker Basbug, head of the military, and issued a statement assuring Turks that the country's problems would be resolved "within the framework of the constitution."

"Everyone must act responsibly to prevent harm to our institutions," Gul said.

Erdogan described the meeting as having gone "very well," and said there were no plans for a snap poll, broadcasters reported. There was no immediate comment from Basbug.

While the military has said the days of coups are now over, Basbug is believed to be under intense pressure from within the armed forces to uphold the prestige of the services.

/Trend News/