Çukurova boss says Ergenekon suspect asked him to rehire fellow defendant

Karamehmet, in response to a question regarding his acquaintance with retired Gen. Levent Ersöz, the former head of the Gendarmerie Intelligence Department, stated: “I knew him by name earlier. I found out later [about his involvement in Ergenekon]."

He also said he knew one of the other suspects, retired Col. Atilla Uğur, as “Col. Kürşat.” He said he met with Uğur and Ersöz in 2002 at a gendarmerie facility to talk about Pamukbank, when the bank was about to be taken over by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK). “They asked me questions about Pamukbank. I answered their questions. They were both in uniforms.”

He also stated that Ersöz called him on the phone once to convince him to rehire Tuncay Özkan, another suspect in the investigation.

In response to a question from Prosecutor Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel regarding a meeting that allegedly took place on Dec. 16, 2003, between Özkan, Ersöz, Uğur and Karamehmet -- the transcript of which was found in gendarmerie reports -- Karamehmet denied that he participated in any such meeting.