Ergenekon court refuses to reverse merger decision in Çiçek trial

The request came early yesterday when the colonel appeared before the judge along with four other suspects at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court to testify in their own defense over claims that they were engaged in a subversive plot to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement.

Titled the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, the plot details a military plan to destroy the image of the ruling party and the Gülen movement in the eyes of the public, to play down the Ergenekon investigation and to gather support for members of the military arrested as part of the investigation into Ergenekon.

Ergenekon is a clandestine organization nested within the state and bureaucracy with the ulterior motive of fomenting chaos in society to lead to a military takeover.

Çiçek and other four suspects -- lawyer Serdar Öztürk, Ulusal TV security head Ufuk Akkaya, Aydınlık Editor-in-Chief Deniz Yıldırım and İlhami Ümit Handan, secretary for former İstanbul Mayor Bedrettin Dalan -- were brought to the courthouse under high security. Dalan is also a suspect in the case but was absent from yesterday’s hearing as he is currently at large abroad. National Intelligence Organization (MİT) official Özel Yılmaz, another suspect, did not attend the session, either.

Çiçek addressed his relatives in the courtroom before the beginning of the hearing. “A play is being staged, and we are the players. Turkey is an interesting country. It is unknown what will happen tomorrow. There is an imaginary Dursun Çiçek. He appeared in Erzincan. The problem is serious. Either the law will get back on track, or they will go ahead with the scenario,” he said.

The colonel was arrested -- for a third time -- in late April on charges of working to overthrow the government and membership in a terrorist organization. Çiçek was arrested twice earlier, first last July and then in November, for suspected links to Ergenekon but was released after brief detentions in jail. The colonel is believed to be key to exposing the pro-coup junta within the armed forces.

During yesterday’s trial, Çiçek’s lawyers argued that the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court was not entitled to merge the cases against the colonel and Cihaner. Cihaner was arrested in February for membership in a terrorist organization but was recently released from prison.

Currently there are two cases open against Cihaner. In a case being heard by the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court, he stands accused of membership in Ergenekon. According to an Erzurum prosecutor, the chief prosecutor was working to put the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism into operation in Erzincan.

In a case being heard by the Supreme Court of Appeals Cihaner stands accused of abuse of power and falsification of documents. On June 18, however, the 11th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided to merge the two cases and release Cihaner pending trial. The appeals chamber did so without even examining the original documents regarding the Cihaner terror file, although it did reference photocopies.

The controversial decision spurred the Erzurum court into action. The court forwarded the Cihaner case file to the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court and requested that the terror case against the chief prosecutor be merged with the Çiçek case. The İstanbul court deliberated the request on June 25 and decided to merge the Cihaner and Çiçek cases.

According to Çiçek’s lawyers, the İstanbul court was not authorized to decide on a merger of the two cases. They requested that the Çiçek file be forwarded to the Supreme Court of Appeals. The court, however, rejected the request and said the Çiçek case would continue to be heard at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court.

An indictment against the instigators of the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism spells out the details of the suspected plot and labels Çiçek as the “number two man” behind the document. The prime suspect is thought to be Dalan.

Dalan is the founder of the İstek Foundation, on whose land in Poyrazköy a large number of weapons and a sizable amount of ammunition were found buried last year in an excavation carried out as part of the investigation into Ergenekon. Turkey applied for an Interpol red notice against Dalan earlier this year, but Interpol decided to circulate a fugitive diffusion instead.

According to the indictment, Dalan was tipped off by an MİT employee that he was to be detained as part of an Ergenekon operation in October 2008 and fled Turkey. Since then, the ex-mayor has received regular “warnings” not to return to Turkey.

The indictment also claims that the former mayor was to become the prime minister after an expected military takeover. In addition, Dalan is accused of being responsible for developing Ergenekon’s international relations and contributing to plans to destroy the government through acts of violence.

Also on Monday, suspect Öztürk’s lawyer, Hasan Gürbüz, demanded that three judges presiding over the case be removed from the case. The judges are Sedat Sami Haşıloğlu, Hüsnü Çalmuk and Hasan Hüseyin Özese. The presiding judge, Köksal Şengün, said the request would be evaluated by other judges at the İstanbul court. The trial was adjourned to a later date.

Çiçek faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on charges of working to bring down the government and membership in a terrorist organization. The indictment also demands up to 22.5 years in prison for Dalan. The document calls for a jail term of at least 27 years each for Öztürk and Yıldırım and at least 26 years for Akkaya. It also demands up to 15 years each for Handan and Yılmaz.