The question came from the 13th High Criminal Court after a hearing for the Ergenekon trial, during which Col. Cengiz Köylü was cross-examined about the Karargah houses. The colonel is believed to have been in charge of those houses. He is also accused of being a member of Ergenekon, charged with attempting to create chaos and undermine stability in Turkey to trigger a coup. Dozens of alleged Ergenekon members are in jail and standing trial.
Köylü, however, denied the claims and asked whether there was any document at hand regarding the existence of Karargah houses. The court decided to question MİT and the military prosecutor’s office at the Air Forces Command about the houses.
Karargah houses were used by members of the Ergenekon terrorist group for discussing strategic plans to manipulate the decisions of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The existence of those covert meeting places was revealed as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation.
MİT stated in an information notice sent to the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court that the agency sent an urgent five-page note to the General Staff about those houses in 2007. The same note was also sent to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The agency also said it had no information over whether Karargah houses were linked to any illegal group or formation.
