According to the Star and Yeni Şafak dailies, Ertosun -- who demanded the removal of prosecutors and judges in the Ergenekon case -- participated in 13 secret meetings held between army officers at the Kent Hotel in İstanbul. In these meetings, participants reportedly discussed the country's political landscape and made certain confidential decisions.
The Kent Hotel meetings were also mentioned in the second Ergenekon indictment, which indicated that members of the military were stepping into the realm of politics at these meetings.
According to the dailies, Ertosun met with a number of Ergenekon suspects during these meetings. Among the suspects were Cumhuriyet chief columnist İlhan Selçuk, also currently among the jailed suspects standing trial, retired generals Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon, who were both released due to poor health pending trial, retired Gen. Erdal Şenel, who was detained in January but released, possibly pending trial, and Başkent University Rector Mehmet Haberal.
The frequent contact between Ertosun and several Ergenekon suspects has drawn the ire of several jurists, who called on the HSYK member to resign, saying that he dealt a serious blow to his impartiality with these meetings.
“What an honorable person should do under such circumstances is to resign from his position. His contacts with Ergenekon suspects has overshadowed his impartiality and boosted people's distrust of judges,” said Yılmaz Geniş, the president of the Boğaziçi Jurists Association.
Mete Göktürk, a former chief prosecutor of the now-dissolved State Security Court (DGM), said Ertosun's attendance at meetings held by suspects would probably lead him to lose his impartiality on the case. Mustafa Kamalak, a constitutional law professor, also called on Ertosun to resign from his position.
