Lawyers of Agos weekly become co-plaintiffs in Cage plot case

Co-plaintiff status grants a person, or their legal representatives, the right to take part in an ongoing legal action along with the prosecution.

The lawyers submitted their request to become a co-plaintiff in the Cage plot case on behalf of Aris Nalcı, the managing editor of Agos. Presiding Judge Vedat Yılmazabdurrahmanoğlu said the request was accepted by a majority of votes by the prosecution. Judge Oktay Kuban annotated the decision. Hrant Dink, once the editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot dead in 2007 by an ultranationalist Turkish adolescent. The murder is believed by many to be the work of a clandestine terrorist organization, known as Ergenekon. Dozens of Ergenekon members are currently in jail pending trial on charges of working to overthrow the government.

The Cage plot is an alleged Naval Forces Command plot to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) by assassinating prominent non-Muslim figures in Turkey and putting the blame for the killings on the AK Party. The plan aimed to intimidate the country's non-Muslim groups, which was expected to increase internal and external pressure on the ruling party. Weakening public support for the party was intended to eventually lead to a military takeover.

The Cage plot calls the killing of Dink an “operation.” Thirty-three defendants, all retired and active duty naval officers, attended yesterday's trial.

The 65-page Cage indictment says the naval plot team was coordinated and led by retired Adm. Ahmet Feyyaz Öğütçü. The document also points to Vice Adm. Kadir Sağdıç and Rear Adm. Mehmet Fatih İlğar as the “number two and number three men” behind the plot. The two were interrogated in February by İzmir prosecutors as part of the Ergenekon probe. The indictment calls for jail sentences of up to 15 years for the three admirals on charges of membership in a terrorist group.

It also seeks lengthy prison terms for 30 other defendants on similar charges. During yesterday’s trial, one of the defendants -- Metin Samancı -- demanded that the İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court issue a lack of jurisdiction ruling on the Cage plot case and refer the trial to a military court.

The İstanbul court, however, rejected the demand, saying that the alleged crimes are referred to as a “crime of terror”; thus, they fall within the scope of authority of a high criminal court.

According to the Cage plot, the names and addresses of the country’s prominent non-Muslims would be determined. It would then be ascertained which newspapers and magazines they subscribed to, which schools non-Muslims worked for or sent their children to, which associations or foundations they were members of, which places of worship they frequented and where they held their religious celebrations and rituals. It then outlined a plan to post information about subscribers to Turkish-Armenian biweekly Agos on a number of websites, especially “reactionary” ones. Letters that included threatening messages were to be sent to Agos subscribers, and they were also to receive threatening phone calls. Similar messages were to be written on a number of walls and buildings in the Adalar district, which is home to hundreds of non-Muslim families. The court was also expected to announce whether it would merge the Cage indictment with an indictment into munitions found in Poyrazköy. The merger decision had not been made available before Today’s Zaman went to print.

Prosecutors overseeing the Cage investigation believe the plot was to be put into operation through the use of a large cache of munitions buried in İstanbul’s Poyrazköy district. The munitions were discovered by police in April of last year on land owned by the İstek Foundation, which belongs to former İstanbul Mayor Bedrettin Dalan. The discovery was made during an investigation into Ergenekon.

Yesterday’s trial was held in a rather tense atmosphere. When retired Adm. Öğütçü and Vice Adm. Sağdıç entered the courtroom, all suspected naval officers greeted them with a military salute. The defendants also verbally attacked Agos lawyers, saying they were “sold for money.” Agos lawyer Bahri Belen said they do not see the suspects as the culprits as the trial has not yet been completed.

Anti-coup group demands harshest punishment for plotters

An anti-coup coalition named 70 Million Steps Against Coups held a demonstration outside the court building on Tuesday and demanded the Cage plot instigators be punished in the harshest manner. The group carried banners that read: “Cage plotters inside the cage,” “The ‘operation’ was a murder” and “Hrant’s killer is Ergenekon gang.” The group also chanted: “Say ‘stop’ to coups.”

Zeynep Tanbay, a ballerina and activist, read the group’s statement, which said the Cage plot has come to show that coup plotters knew no boundaries when it came to achieving their objectives. Tanbay also voiced the group’s demand for the harshest punishment for Cage plot plotters.

In the meantime, a group of supporters of the defendants were also outside the court building, demanding “justice” for the Cage plot instigators. The group said the Ergenekon probe was victimizing Turkey’s military officers, who had served the country for many years. “Newspapers published headlines that read ‘A commander or a terrorist?’ Turkey has reached a sad point. Injustice is at its peak. They are using the judiciary like a tool,” the group complained.