General and prosecutor named as terror suspects

The indictment accuses Cihaner of putting into action a part of the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism -- an alleged military plot to undermine the government and a major social religious movement -- in his own region. Meanwhile, a petition from Cihaner's lawyer, Turgut Kazan, addressing the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court and seeking his release was rejected for the third time.

The indictment notes the cases launched against members of the clandestine Ergenekon network at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court and lists information on the structure and targets and other evidence regarding Ergenekon.

Other suspects named in the indictment include Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Col. Ali Tapan, Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Sr. Col. Recep Gençoğlu, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Department Director Nedim Ersan, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Department Deputy Director Esin Ergut, Yaylabaşı Post Commander NCO Murat Yıldız.  NCOs Orhan Esinger and Şenol Bozkurt, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Erzincan Department Director Şinasi Demir, MİT members Sadri Barkın İnce and Kıvılcım Üstel, 3rd Army Intelligence Department Planning and Training officer Ahmet Saraçlar and Erzincan hunting goods store owner Yaşar Baş. The suspects are accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization.

Earlier this year Gen. Berk was called to testify by former specially authorized Erzurum Prosecutor Osman Şanal, who was later stripped of his authority by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) for issuing an arrest warrant for Cihaner. Berk was summoned by Şanal in the investigation but still has not testified. Berk is accused in the indictment of membership in the Ergenekon terrorist organization. On Feb. 26 Cihaner’s office and home were searched and he was detained. On Feb. 27, he was arrested. He is being indicted for membership in a terrorist organization, falsification of official documents and blackmailing or threatening more than one individual.

Col. Tapan testified to Şanal on Dec. 10, 2009 for the first time in Erzurum as part of the investigation. He was banned from foreign travel after the interrogation. He is listed as the third suspect and stands accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization.

Col. Gençoğlu is listed as suspect number four. He was first detained on Jan. 27 and flown to Erzurum the next day. He was interrogated by Şanal at the Erzurum Courthouse on Jan. 30 and was released pending trial by a court on Jan. 31. Şanal appealed the court’s decision to release him, and an arrest warrant was issued on Feb. 3, when he was arrested and put in a military prison. He is accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, rights group Özgür-Der issued a press release yesterday demanding Berk’s dismissal from the military. The statement called on authorities to discharge those members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) who are suspects in high-profile cases in which they are accused of plotting a coup d’état against the government.

Confidential witness testimony

The indictment accuses the suspects of starting to implement the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, initially drafted by Col. Dursun Çiçek.

In a related development, a new military investigation was launched yesterday into the action plan. The General Staff also announced that new evidence pointed to the plot’s authenticity.

The statement came in sharp contrast with Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ’s strong denial of the existence of such a plot on June 26. The military termed the plot a “piece of paper” and accused the Turkish newspaper that published a photocopied version of the document of working to undermine the TSK.

The indictment accuses MİT officials of attempting to plant unlicensed weaponry and narcotics in homes, schools and other institutions owned by the religious Gülen movement. A witness whose identity was not made public, who was entrusted with the task of planting the weapons, told the prosecutor that he felt guilty for nearly becoming an instrument in such a plot. According to the indictment Cihaner and the secret witness met in a vehicle outside town, where Cihaner told him to do whatever he was told by the MİT officials. “If you don’t do as he says and complain, we would be hurt, but we would make sure we would take you and your family with us. We will finish off your family, kill your father and get your brothers fired.”

The indictment also accuses the organization of setting up smaller terrorist organizations, controlling the mafia’s international drug trade, attempting to control some media, civil society organizations and political parties, attempting to stage political assassinations and using illegal means to find funding and new recruits for the organization. The indictment said, “The group appears to be organizing most secretly inside the TSK and was also attempting to form its own cadres inside intelligence units, which it saw as crucial for its goals.”

The suspects in the indictment are members of the Erzincan structure of the larger Ergenekon organization, say prosecutors.

According to the indictment, the Erzincan group was planning to play Sunni and Alevi communities in Erzincan against each other by making use of the power that Berk, as the 3rd Army commander, and Cihaner as the Erzincan chief prosecutor, had access to.