This is how the EU wants to act against its own dissidents.
This is the very same regime that Finland’s present foreign minister, Erkki Tuomioja, regrets not having fought enough for in gaining EU membership, when Finland had the rotating presidency.
Their crime? According to the prosecutors and AKP officials the suspects planned to wreak so much havoc in Turkey – by carrying out (fake) terrorist attacks and generally polarizing society – that the Turkish people would eventually support a military coup just so order could be restored again.
Among the suspects were many officers. One of them was General Ilker Basbug, who served as the army’s chief-of-staff until he retired in 2010. Once enjoying the quiet life of a retiree, Basbug was arrested. According to the charges, he was the “terrorist” group’s leader. Yesterday, Basbug was sentenced to life in jail.