Two former Turkish generals arrested over plot to kill Nobel laureate
3 Jul 2008, 1232 Hrs

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London, July 3 (ANI): Turkish police have arrested two retired generals as part of an investigation into a plot to murder Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist.

Former military police chief Sener Eruygur, and Hursit Tolon, a former once a senior army official, were among 25 people taken into custody in Ankara in the latest twist in investigations that began last year, reports the Telegraph.

Other senior former military figures have already been arrested and charged with 'provoking armed rebellion against the government'.

The plotters' plan allegedly was to assassinate public intellectuals and Kurdish politicians, and even target military personnel, as part of a campaign to destabilise Turkish society and force military intervention.

The arrests mark a sudden intensification of a power struggle consuming the country.

The targeting of two members of the secular establishment came on the same day that the ruling party was fighting court charges aimed at shutting it down.

The country's senior prosecutor has brought a case against the AK Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing it of trying to establish an Islamic state.

If it results in the party being banned, it is likely to lead to political turmoil and an early election. (ANI)