The court is hearing the Ergenekon trial, whose suspected members are accused of working to create chaos in society that would eventually lead to a military takeover. Among the suspected members are members of the military, the academia and the business world. The court ruled earlier this month to examine all documents on Ecevit’s stay at the hospital. The documents will help the court examine a suspected plot to remove Ecevit from office through a falsified medical report as part of an ongoing probe into Ergenekon.
The examination will help shed light on events surrounding a conspiracy against the late prime minister in which a fake medical report was to prevent him from serving as the head of government.
Claims of a falsified medical report for Ecevit were raised by Democratic Left Party (DSP) officials in 2002. Following the emergence of these claims, Ecevit was immediately rushed to the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) by his wife, Rahşan Ecevit. The former prime minister died in 2006. Mehmet Haberal, the rector of Başkent University, was detained last year as part of the Ergenekon probe. He was Ecevit’s doctor at the hospital.
The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court plans to forward documents on Ecevit’s treatment at Başkent University to the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) for examination. The ATK examination will decide whether the medical treatment the late prime minister received was appropriate. The government led by Ecevit dissolved in July 2002 after the resignation of 61 DSP deputies from the party. Rahşan Ecevit is expected to make a statement on the conspiracy in the days ahead. The widow of the former prime minister is in fact authoring an autobiography, which is to include information about her experiences during the period in question.
