KONYA - Police teams detained 20 people in simultaneous operations conducted under Ergenekon investigation in 5 provinces on Wednesday.
Police launched operations early in the morning and detained 12 people in central province of Konya, 3 in Istanbul, 3 in northwestern province of Kocaeli, 1 in eastern province of Elazig and 1 in southern province of Mersin.
All suspects were taken to Konya for interrogation, police said.
Earlier in the day, Worker`s Party said in a statement posted on its website that 3 of party executives were taken into custody.
An alleged criminal network that came to be known as "Ergenekon" was revealed after police seized hand grenades, TNT explosives and fuses in a shanty house in Istanbul on June 12th, 2007. Several Turkish figures, including retired senior army officers, were detained and sent to prison within the scope of the investigation.
The indictment regarding the operation "Ergenekon" was filed at an Istanbul court last week, indicting 86 people on charges of attempting to overthrow Turkish government. The 2455-page indictment includes 86 suspects, 48 of whom are in prison.
Prosecutors accuse the suspects of "being members of an armed terrorist organization, aiding the armed terrorist organization, attempting to overthrow Turkish government by force, inciting people to armed insurgency, possessing and throwing explosives, instigating these crimes, instigating the attack on Council of State and bombing of daily Cumhuriyet, having secret documents on state security, recording personal data, encouraging military disobedience, inciting people to enmity and animosity."
(TÇ-MS)
(GEN)