Last December, the Supreme Court of Appeals announced a ruling merging the case of the armed attack on the Council of State with Ergenekon. The six suspects in the attack, including hit man Alparslan Arslan, previously faced murder charges because of the attack -- which Arslan later claimed was committed in protest of the Council of State's headscarf ruling -- but will now be tried on charges of creating chaos as part of a plot to stage a coup d'etat against the democratically elected government.
After the Supreme Court of Appeals made its ruling, the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court, which was hearing the Council of State case, announced in May that the trial would be merged with the ongoing Ergenekon trial in İstanbul. Preparations to transfer the suspects to Silivri Prison have been completed, and the suspects, who were held at Sincan Prison in Ankara, were sent to Silivri under tight security on Wednesday. The primary suspect, Arslan, was reportedly put in solitary confinement.
In the armed attack on the Council of State building in Ankara on May 17, 2006, lawyer Arslan shot and killed a judge and injured four others during a court deliberation. The attack, which received condemnation from all political segments, increased political tension in Turkey.
