Coup generals’ trial resumes today in Ergenekon case

The trial, the first hearing of which was held on July 20, is based on the second indictment in the case against Ergenekon, an investigation into a criminal organization that was exposed after explosives were found in a shanty house in İstanbul. The first hearing marked the start of the trial of 56 suspects. Nineteen of the suspects are under arrest and in custody, 36 are out pending trial and one has evaded arrest.

The suspects included in the trial being heard by the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court at Silivri Prison include former Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department Chief Adil Serdar Saçan, former Esenyurt Mayor Gürbüz Çapan, journalist Tuncay Özkan, retired Col. Arif Doğan and retired Col. Hasan Atilla Uğur.

Retired Gen. Levent Ersöz and retired Col. Uğur did not attend the first hearing, with their lawyers saying that their clients have not been served warrants to attend the hearing. Both men are currently being hospitalized for health reasons. Meanwhile, another Ergenekon suspect, Col. Doğan, who was released due to health problems, was transferred to Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) yesterday.

In the first hearing, the prosecution demanded that the two Ergenekon trials be merged and that retired generals Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon, both released due to health reasons, be examined by the Council of Forensic Medicine. The prosecution also demanded that Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Chairman Sinan Aygün and Levent Temiz, two suspects detained during the investigation but released pending trial, be taken into custody and arrested. The court is expected to announce its decision on these demands today.

Twenty-eight of the suspects who were indicted but released pending trial, including retired Gen. Hurşit Tolon, ATO Chairman Aygün, journalist Emin Şirin and Erol Mütercimler as well as Ferda Paksüt attended the first hearing on July 20. The courtroom, with a capacity of 740 people, was built inside Silivri Prison specifically for this trial.

Allegations against the retired generals

The five-part second indictment is 1,909 pages long and deals with 56 suspects. The first section contains a summary of the first phase of the Ergenekon investigation and the first indictment. The second section provides information on later phases of the investigation and the organization described as Ergenekon. The third section deals with crimes committed by the organization, and the fourth section addresses other activities carried out by the organization and its relationship with other organizations, including nongovernmental and media organizations. The fifth section details individual activities carried out by the suspects, the crimes these activities constitute and their punishment.

Retired Gen. Eruygur, released from custody for health reasons two-and-a-half months after being arrested, and retired Gen. Tolon, also released from custody seven months after being arrested, are being charged for setting up and leading a terrorist organization, recording personal data, attempting to destroy the government of the Republic of Turkey or to block it from performing its duties, destroying, distorting, stealing and acquiring secret documents on national security, exerting influence over the judiciary, provoking armed unrest against the government, attempting to destroy the Turkish Parliament and blocking it from performing its duties, carrying out premeditated murder, carrying explosives, firing weapons that pose a threat to people's life, health and property or that incite fear, concern and panic, damaging property and acquiring prohibited documents. The indictment demands punishing Eruygur and Tolon, who are being accused of leading the organization and of being responsible for an attack on the Council of State and the Cumhuriyet daily headquarters, with a triple sentence of between 142 to 246 years imprisonment and a triple sentence of 129 to 219 years imprisonment, respectively.

Complaint against Küçük and Perinçek

Meanwhile, the first Ergenekon trial continued yesterday. In yesterday's hearing, Prosecutor Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel demanded that the Silivri Prosecutor's Office file a complaint about Ergenekon suspects Doğu Perinçek, retired Gen. Veli Küçük and Vural Ergül for falsely accusing him of having met with Ergenekon suspect Kemal Kerinçsiz in the Sincan Prison on March 11, 2008. He said no public prosecutor visited the Sincan Prison on March 11, 2008, adding that all testimonies were taken on March 12 and 13, 2008.

He also demanded that it be added to court records that some of the suspects walked out of the courtroom on Aug. 3, in protest of the court's decision to merge the trial of the suspects in the 2006 murder of a Council of State judge with that of Ergenekon.

In the 102nd hearing of the trial, held on Aug. 3, the court ruled to merge the ongoing Ergenekon trial, which began in October 2008, with the Council of State shooting in 2006 that left a senior judge dead. The gunman, Alparslan Arslan, had said he had carried out the attack because of an earlier Council of State ruling against the headscarf. Some Ergenekon suspects, including Workers' Party (İP) leader Perinçek, walked out of the courtroom when the presiding judge announced the decision.

Meanwhile, the hit man of the Council of State shooting is expected to deliver his defense testimony on Aug. 24, when the 104th hearing of the first Ergenekon trial takes place. Other suspects in the case -- Osman Yıldırım, Erhan Timuroğlu and İsmail Sağır -- will also make their defenses in the next hearing.

In the 103rd hearing of the trial, the court postponed the next hearing to Aug. 24 and ruled to request information from the Edirne, İstanbul and Ankara police departments on whether a suspect in the Council of State attack, Sağır, was used as an informant by those police departments.