Turkish coup plotters' plan to indict Erdogan revealed

By Filiz Kinik

ISTANBUL

Police have recovered a legal document thought to have been drawn up to launch an investigation into senior government figures if last week’s military coup in Turkey had been successful, a prosecution source said Wednesday.

The petition was discovered during a search of the office of Public Prosecutor Mehmet Sel in Istanbul following his arrest and named President Recep Tayyip Erdogan among those who would face prosecution over the “solution process” to bring an end to the Kurdish conflict, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Sel was among 71 judges and 39 prosecutors from Anadolu Palace of Justice who were suspended on Saturday over possible links to Friday’s coup attempt and subsequently arrested.

The document was addressed to chief public prosecutor’s office in Inegol, Bursa province, and listed Erdogan, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, National Intelligence Organization chief Hakan Fidan, provincial governors as well as former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and former deputy prime ministers Besir Atalay and Yalcin Akdogan.

It accused them of "supporting" terrorist groups between 2009 and 2015 by conducting peace talks with the PKK leadership.

They were to be the subject of an inquiry into claims they had “committed the crime of helping an armed terror organization by ignoring their preparation of attacks”.

The petition was not signed or dated -- other than having the year 2016 on it -- suggesting it had been prepared for the eventuality of the coup succeeding, the source said.

Dozens of members of the criminal justice system have been charged over suspected links to the failed coup, which resulted in at least 240 deaths when elements within the military attacked parliament, the presidential palace and other targets in Ankara and Istanbul.