Erdal Erdoğan was detained last week on suspicion of working with Ersin to pressure a witness who used the codename Munzur to retract his statement in the case against jailed Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner and Gen. Saldıray Berk, who is currently at the helm of the 3rd Army.
The two are accused of implementing part of an apparent military plot -- the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism -- against the government and certain religious communities. Cihaner and Berk are also suspected of membership in Ergenekon, a clandestine organization charged with plotting to topple the government.
The CHP deputy was photographed handing over a briefcase that is believed to be full of banknotes to Erdoğan in an Erzincan hotel. The images, published in the media early this week, showed Ersin walking into the lobby with a case in his hand. He is introduced to Munzur in the next picture, where the two are seen shaking hands in the lobby. In the third picture, Ersin is seen placing the case on the floor. Subsequent images from the camera show Ersin walking out of the hotel without a bag. Another image in the sequence shows Erdoğan picking up the bag placed by Ersin from the lobby floor.
Munzur and another secret witness told civilian prosecutors last week that they were proposed large sums of money to withdraw their testimonies in the case.
Erdoğan was released from custody last week due to lack of evidence but was arrested once again this week after the publication of the images. An Erzurum court arrested the suspect on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization.
