Court jails senior commanders in case of Turkish intel trucks to Syria

Senior commanders in the case involving Syria-bound trucks sent by Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (M?T) were imprisoned early on Nov. 30, after a local court in Istanbul decided to arrest them. 

Following the ruling, Ankara Gendarmerie Regional Commander Maj. Gen. ?brahim Ayd?n and Brig. Gen. Hamza Celepo?lu were taken to the Had?mköy Military Prison and Ret. Col. Burhanettin Cihangiro?lu was taken to Silivri Prison early on the morning of Nov. 30.

Celepo?lu is charged with "founding or directing an armed terrorist organization and attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or prevent it from doing its duties."

Ayd?n and Cihangiro?lu, meanwhile, are charged with "getting information that must be kept secret in the interest of national security ? serving the interests of a foreign country with the intention of spying on political and military affairs," and "founding or directing an armed terrorist organization and attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey or prevent it from doing its duties."

The case is part of an investigation into the alleged creation of a fake terrorist group called "Selam Tevhid," in which U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, a friend-turned-foe of the Turkish government, is a suspect along with 121 others.

The subject of M?T's purported arms deliveries to Syria has been high on the agenda in the wake of Turkey's downing of a Russian jet on Nov. 24 and the arrest of two prominent journalists, daily Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar and Ankara Bureau Chief Erdem Gül, on Nov. 26. Dündar and Gül were charged with collecting and revealing secret documents for espionage and supporting an armed terrorist organization, based on reports published...