Newspaper columnist released after detention in Ergenekon probe

Veteran journalist Ilhan Selcuk, 83, the chief columnist for Cumhuriyet daily, was released yesterday after being detained along with 12 other well-known figures, including Worker's Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek and former Istanbul University Rector Kemal Alemdaroglu, as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. Selcuk was questioned for more than four hours on suspicion of being the mastermind behind the armed right-wing Ergenekon gang. Perincek was arrested on charges of being a top leader of the terrorist gang and illegally possessing secret government documents, while Alemdaroglu was sent to the court.