Retired Gen. Hurşit Tolon, a former commander of the 1st Army Corps who in July was jailed on charges of membership in Ergenekon, has lost 12 kilograms since his incarceration.

Tolon was returned to prison after a medical examination at the hospital.

Tolon's lawyer, İlkay Sezer, told reporters in the afternoon that he was going to request the release of his client for reasons of health. "We want him to be released pending trial. He has lost nearly 12 kilograms since he was sent to jail. Someone in this condition cannot possibly have a normally functioning immune system," he said.

Tolon's hospital visit comes after Şener Eruygur, another retired general arrested as a suspect in Ergenekon, was released by order of the İstanbul 9th Higher Criminal Court after he suffered a brain hemorrhage as a result of a head injury in a fall last week. Eruygur, who spent seven days in a drug-induced coma, emerged from his coma on Tuesday after doctors at the Kocaeli University Research and Teaching Hospital performed surgery on his brain. In a press conference on the results of the surgery, Dr. Savaş Ceylan announced that Eruygur's condition was improving, adding that he hoped the retired general would soon be out of the intensive care unit.

Todays Zaman