Erzincan suspects were carrying out Çiçek’s plan, indictment says

There are 14 suspects in the trial, whose first hearing is slated for early May. Eleven of the defendants are in custody while three have been released pending trial. The suspects are a senior general, a chief prosecutor, two colonels, one major, one sergeant, four noncommissioned officers, three National Intelligence Organization (MİT) employees and a civilian.

The chief suspect is Gen. Berk, followed by Cihaner. Suspect number three is Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Ali Tapan while the former commander of the same unit, Col. Recep Gençoğlu, is listed as suspect number four. The prosecutor has demanded a sentence of between seven-and-a-half to 15 years in prison for Berk, five to 28 years for Cihaner and sentences raging between seven-and-a-half to 20 years for the remaining 12 suspects. Cihaner has been charged with membership in the Ergenekon terrorist organization, a clandestine network accused of plotting to overthrow the democratically elected Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, falsification of official documents, blackmailing and recording private details of individuals in a way that violates the law.

There are 12 witnesses, all of whose identities are being withheld for security reasons, who have testified to the prosecutors. Their statements are included in the 61-page indictment, which has evidence compiled in 14 additional folders to back its allegations. These folders will be distributed to the suspects’ lawyers in the next few days.

The indictment was submitted by Taner Aksakal, a prosecutor newly assigned to the case after the former prosecutor of the case, Osman Şanal, was stripped of his special authority by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) following his indictment of Cihaner. Aksakal submitted Şanal’s indictment with only very minor changes. The 12 witnesses are mentioned in the indictment under various code names, including Erzincan, Munzur, Efe, Can, Hazar, Kalem, Taha, X, Göyne, 1, Ethem and Çatalarmut. Their statements take up 20 pages of the document.

How did the investigation start?

The Erzurum Prosecutor’s Office launched the investigation when 13 hand grenades and 350 rounds of ammunition were discovered on Oct. 27, 2009 near the Çatalarmut Dam in Erzincan. As the investigation deepened, the prosecutors acquired evidence indicating that Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Col. Tapan and officers under him were engaging in a plot to frame the Erzincan Police Department, as the security body is aiding prosecutors in the Ergenekon investigation. The indictment says suspects Cihaner, Tapan, Ersin Ergut and Orhan Esirger were planning to find false witnesses and create fake evidence to tie the Çatalarmut munitions to the Erzincan Police Department. According to the indictment, this operation was conducted under the coordination of 3rd Army Commander Gen. Berk.

In the ensuing case, scores of documents, CD-ROMs, illegally acquired voice recordings, lists of people grouped according to their religious and ideological beliefs and papers were found, proving the group’s subversive plans against religious groups and individuals.

Implementing Çiçek’s plan

The most important allegation in the indictment is that Cihaner, Berk and the other suspects were working to carry out the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, devised by Col. Çiçek, whose “wet signature” appears under the document. The General Staff has acknowledged that the plot document signed by Çiçek is authentic. According to the indictment, Çiçek visited Erzincan three times in the past few years to hold meetings. Witness statement show that as part of the plan, the group was conspiring to frame religious individuals for crimes they had not committed.

According to the indictment, the plotters chose Erzincan as the city to start to implement the plan because the city’s cosmopolitan make up, with its Sunni, Kurdish and Alevi population, is apt for manipulation. Another reason was alleged Ergenekon member Gen. Berk’s presence in the city as the commander of the 3rd Army. Cihaner, a powerful chief prosecutor, was also assigned to that city.