Turkey detains 18 over links to gov't plot case

By Ibon Villelabeitia

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 18 people, including a university head and an anti-government media executive, on Monday in connection with an alleged plot to overthrow the government, state-run Anatolian news agency said.

The detentions were part of an operation against the shadowy, ultra-nationalist Ergenekon group which has increased tension between the government of the Islamist-rooted AK Party and secularists, including the military.

In raids that fuelled accusations of an anti-government witch hunt, police also searched the offices of two non-governmental groups which took part in mass demonstrations against the AK Party government in 2007, including the staunchly secular Ataturk Thought Association, Anatolian said.

Among those detained was Tijen Mergen, who sits on the executive board of Dogan Gazetecilik, a unit of Turkey's biggest media group Dogan Yayin Holding, the agency said.

Shares in Dogan Gazetecilik were down 4.38 percent on news of Mergen's detention, traders said.

Dogan Yayin, which owns top-selling Hurriyet daily, has been embroiled in a legal battle with the government since it was fined $500 million this year for alleged tax violations.

The fine came after months of public mud-slinging between Dogan newspapers and the government, prompting some, including the U.S. State Department, to question the level of press freedom in the European Union candidate country.

Nearly 150 people, including retired senior military officers, lawyers, academics and journalists, are on trial for their links to Ergenekon. Prosecutors say the group was planning a campaign of bombings and attacks to force the army to step in against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government.