Unearthed ammunition keystone of third indictment

The prosecutors conducting the investigation into Ergenekon submitted the third indictment to the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which is trying the suspected members of the organization, on Monday. The new document is 1,454 pages long and indicts 52 people.

Weapons and munitions discovered underground in various Turkish provinces during the investigation so far stand as a keystone in the new indictment. The full list of munitions belonging to the group was included in the document.

Various kinds of munitions have been unearthed since the start of the Ergenekon probe in June 2007, when hand grenades were discovered at a house in İstanbul's Ümraniye district.

According to the third indictment, different types of weapons and munitions -- including 424 hand grenades, land mines, booby traps, 12 rocket launchers, approximately three kilograms of explosives, 43 ready-to-use light anti-tank weapons, seven shells for light anti-tank weapons, 34 anti-aircraft missiles, 35 mortar shells, dynamite, rifles, handguns and tens of thousands of bullets -- have been found during the investigation.

The indictment said Ergenekon was hoping to create chaos in the country with the munitions which would result in the overthrow of the government.

Ergenekon's munitions are not restricted to those unearthed during excavations. Unidentified individuals have been abandoning weapons and munitions in isolated locations throughout the country since the discovery of munitions buried underground early in January after raids on Ergenekon suspects' homes revealed maps and other evidence pointing to weapons caches.

The indictment accuses suspects of setting up and leading a terror organization; attempting to destroy the government of the Republic of Turkey or blocking it from performing its duties; attempting to destroy the Turkish Parliament and blocking it from performing its duties; recording personal data; destroying, distorting, stealing and acquiring secret documents on national security; carrying explosives; firing weapons that pose a threat to people's lives; and disclosing footage and voice recordings belonging to private life.

A total of 52 suspects, 37 of whom are still under arrest, are indicted in the new indictment. The suspects were arrested between Jan. 10, 2009 and April 17, 2009. Four of those suspects arrested were later released, and 11 of the suspects were not arrested.

Among those indicted are İbrahim Şahin, former head of the National Police Department's Special Operations Unit; retired generals Tuncer Kılınç and Kemal Yavuz; Mustafa Özbek, chairman of the workers' union Türk Metal; former Başkent University Rector Mehmet Haberal; former İnönü University Rector Fatih Hilmioğlu; former Uludağ University Rector Mustafa Yurtkuran; and Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez.

With the new indictment, the number of Ergenekon suspects has risen to 202. The indictment also contains a summary of the first phrase of the Ergenekon investigation and the first indictment, along with information on the activities planned and realized by the organization, including its assassination plans and seized ammunition.

The indictment also touched upon recent attempts by various circles to influence the course of the Ergenekon probe.

“According to relevant laws, the content of the investigation cannot be made public and published. Nobody can explicitly make an oral or written statement that would influence prosecutors, judges or court experts until the investigation is concluded. In order for the judicial bodies to perform their duties away from any kind of influence, all individuals, institutions and press organs should stay with in the legal framework,” read the document.

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) has been holding deliberations for the past week over whether to replace the judges and prosecutors conducting the Ergenekon investigation.