ISTANBUL, Turkey, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Nearly two dozen people, including military leaders, were sentenced Monday for their roles in an Ergenekon attempt to overthrow the Turkish government.
The case, which began in 2007 when 27 grenades were found in a house in Istanbul, saw some of Turkey's most prominent citizens detained and arrested, including former Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug; Republican People's Party deputies Mehmet Haberal and Mustafa Balbay; journalists Tuncay Ozkan and Ilhan Selcuk; and retired Gen. Veli Kucuk.
Ergenekon was an alleged clandestine, secularist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey.
Ozkan and Kucuk each drew sentences of life in prison, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Retired Col. Arif Dogan was sentenced to 47 years.
Kucuk and Dogan were accused of founding and leading a terrorist organization, and of trying to overthrow the government.
Ahead of the verdicts, highways leading to Silivri Courthouse in Istanbul were closed to block possible demonstrations, DHA Dogan News Agency said.
The news agency said police fired teargas into a crowd in a nearby field after it refused to disperse.
Hurriyet reported 21 suspects were released from the case. Charges were dropped against three of the accused who died while the cases against them were being heard.
Before the verdicts were announced, Balbay said the government was trying to "hide away the case from the public."
"A warm autumn is coming. They want to take over this case. We will not let it happen. This case is political. They want to hide away the case from the public," Balbay said.
