ISTANBUL - A best-known Turkish columnist Ilhan Selcuk underwent a heart surgery on Monday and was reported to be in stable condition.
"We have fixed the heart valve. The patient has to be discharged before we say the operation was successful. I am hopeful," said Atif Akcevin, the doctor who operated Ilhan Selcuk, the columnist of the Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet and the newspaper's chairman of the board of trustees.
Selcuk was detained on March 21st as part of an investigation into a criminal network that calls itself "Ergenekon". He was released almost 48 hours after his detention.
83-year-old Selcuk was hospitalized on March 31st due to angina pectoris and pneumonia.
Ergenekon terrorist organization was revealed after police seized hand grenades, TNT explosives and fuses in a house in Istanbul on June 12th, 2007.
(AY)