High court files ‘urgent’ request for Cihaner terrorism case files

The trial concerning his alleged falsification of documents is being heard at the 11th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

Cihaner, who did not appear at the first hearing, came to yesterday’s session at the Supreme Court of Appeals. His lawyer Turgut Kazan had earlier requested that the case being heard by the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court, on charges of membership in an armed terrorist organization, be merged with the case at the 11th Chamber. No ruling has yet been made regarding a possible merger of the two cases. However, the chamber said it wanted to see the relevant documents from the Erzurum court before the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court makes a decision on whether to merge Cihaner’s Erzurum court case with a case it is currently hearing, in which Col. Dursun Çiçek and several others are on trial for creating a plot to overthrow the government.

The 11th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which had already requested the case files from the Erzurum court in the past, also filed a criminal complaint with the Justice Ministry against officials at the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court on the grounds that they had not followed basic rules of etiquette and proper conduct in their responses to earlier queries by the high court and for their failure to send the necessary documents.

Some legal analysts say that merging the two cases is unlawful, as it is procedurally wrong to merge two cases of such different natures. Former public prosecutor Gültekin Avcı commented that the Supreme Court of Appeals appears to be engaged in an effort to vindicate Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist group charged with plotting to overthrow the government. Cihaner is also a suspected member of Ergenekon. Avcı said: “The Supreme Court of Appeals first made a ruling that would set a precedent, reducing the evidence value of transcripts from technical wiretapping by police to find suspects to zero. First it decided that such monitoring of phone conversations does not constitute evidence by itself. Now, it is going to restrict statements from secret witnesses.” Many individuals whose identities are being held confidential for security reasons have testified to prosecutors conducting the Ergenekon probe.

In related developments, a voice recording ostensibly featuring Supreme Court of Appeals judge Hamdi Yaver Aktan and an unidentified person was published on a website yesterday. In the recording, the two men talk about how to save 3rd Army Commander Gen. Saldıray Berk -- another major suspect in the Erzincan Ergenekon probe -- and Cihaner from judicial proceedings. To save Cihaner, they discuss merging the falsification case with the terrorist organization membership case into one trial, saying this way the case would be dropped. They also talk about plans to pressure the Erzurum court. The two speakers are also heard praising judge Oktay Kuban, who released dozens of suspects who were under custody in the same investigation in controversial and suspicious decisions.

Cihaner, who was summoned by the court to testify, arrived at the 11th Chamber in the early morning hours yesterday. Former Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) head Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu, Cihaner’s brother, many YARSAV members and family members gathered in front of the Supreme Court of Appeals building yesterday to show their support for Cihaner. A group of 30 people calling themselves the Solidarity Group against the Ergenekon Conspiracy also protested in front of the building and showed their support for Cihaner. A spokesperson for the group said the only crime people being tried in the Ergenekon case had committed was loving their country too much.

Cihaner was arrested and jailed in February after a thorough search at his office and house as part of the ongoing probe into Ergenekon.

Cihaner had been interrogated by specially authorized Erzurum prosecutor Osman Şanal, who was immediately stripped of his authority by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).

The charges of “abuse of power” and “falsification of documents” that Cihaner faces in the Supreme Court of Appeals trial stem from a probe he conducted into a number of religious communities in Erzincan. Prosecutors claim that Cihaner carried out the investigation illegally. One of the religious groups Cihaner investigated is mentioned in an indictment against Ergenekon. According to the indictment, Ergenekon was trying to infiltrate the religious community. Prosecutors believe Cihaner launched the probe into the religious groups as part of a suspected military plot to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

Titled the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, the plot mentions a subversive plan by the armed forces to overthrow the government. According to the plan, ammunition and weapons would be planted in the houses where followers of some religious communities lived, and these weapons would later be found during a police search.