İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court resumed the Ergenekon trial with the 131st hearing attended by Mustafa Balbay, journalist Tuncay Özkan and İbrahim Şahin, the former head of the National Police Department's Special Operations Unit. Sixteen suspects, who have been released pending trial, including CHP deputy Sinan Aygün, retired Gen. Hurşit Tolon and journalists Yalçın Küçük and Ünal İnanç, also appeared in the courtroom.
A total of 21 CHP deputies, excluding the suspected deputies, showed up at the trial. CHP parliamentary group deputy chairs Emine Ülker Tarhan and Muharrem İnce as well as Mersin deputy İsa Gök also attending the court hearing, watching the trial in the section where lawyers are seated.
Judges cross-examined Oğuz Bulut, the İzmir provincial head of Ülkü Ocakları, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) youth organizations, over his connection with the Ergenekon terrorist organization. Bulut said he had not seen Ergenekon suspects Şahin and Ersin Gönenci, who allegedly carried out an assassination of an Armenian community leader as part of Ergenekon network's activities, after he left his post as the head of Sivas Ülkü Ocakları in 2006. Rejecting the charges of being a member of Ergenekon, Bulut said he only talks to Şahin on the phone on special occasions, such as holidays.
Former CHP provincial head reacts against numerous handovers of İstanbul chair
Former head of the CHP's İstanbul branch Şinasi Öktem has reacted against the four-time handover of the CHP İstanbul provincial chair over the past 15 months. Having served as the CHP İstanbul head between 2002 and 2007, Öktem said he agrees with the criticism of the handover of the chair and that it has turned into a game. The appointments became part of the April 23, Children's Day, in which young people symbolically took on significant political posts for the occasion of the day. In an interview with Today's Zaman, Öktem emphasized that the new provincial head, Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, comes from the Dec. 10 movement, which was launched by the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DİSK). While noting that the movement had been established against the CHP, Öktem said: “These are attempts to replace CHP members with individuals who were unsuccessful in their movements and took shelter in the CHP. These people have nothing to do with the past and the organizations of the CHP at all.”
