Turkey issues arrest warrants for 7 generals, admirals

The suspects included Generals Nusret Tasdeler, the head of the army’s educational command and Ismail Hakki Pekin, the intelligence chief of the general staff. Retired General Hasan Igsiz, the former head of the First Army, is also among the suspects.There were no immediate reports of the officers being detained. The officers were among 22 charged last month for attempting to oust the government led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), a liberal offshoot of a banned Islamist movement. They were accused of founding websites to publish anti-government propaganda.About one tenth of the army’s generals are already in custody over a separate 2003 coup plot dubbed “Operation Sledgehammer” that AKP officials say was hatched shortly after the party took power in 2002. The suspects face 15-20 years in jail, though the case has been marred by serious doubts over the authenticity of some of the documents involved.