Haberal uses photos of late Prime Minister Ecevit in campaign video

Haberal is currently in jail as a prime suspect in the case against Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal network accused of working to overthrow the government. Ecevit was also the leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP). DSP officials in 2002 claimed that Haberal was engaged in efforts to falsify Ecevit's medical record while he was receiving treatment at Başkent University Hospital in order to prevent him from serving as prime minister.

Following the emergence of these allegations, Ecevit’s wife Rahşan immediately had him rushed out of the hospital. The former prime minister died in 2006. The suspected anti-Ecevit plot was added to the inquiry into Ergenekon in 2009. In the video clip, Haberal is seen giving a bunch of flowers to Ecevit. Some say he is planning to win the hearts of DSP supporters and thus succeed in the June elections with the clip, which also shows him treating patients at Başkent University Hospital and meeting with foreign diplomats, and protestors marching to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, to protest the arrest of Haberal. Haberal will run in the June elections from Zonguldak, from where Ecevit was nominated. Last week, Recai Birgün, a DSP deputy for İzmir and the former chief bodyguard of Ecevit, reacted strongly against the CHP’s nomination of Haberal as a candidate for deputy. He said he has concerns about the treatment Ecevit underwent at Başkent University Hospital.

DSP: Zonguldak residents will not support Haberal

In the meantime, DSP Secretary-General Hasan Erçelebi expressed the sentiment on Monday that Zonguldak residents will show solidarity for Ecevit and will refuse to support Haberal in the elections. “I believe Zonguldak residents will show solidarity for Ecevit in the June elections,” he said, calling on Birgün to explain the details of Haberal’s alleged plans to provide a falsified medical report for Ecevit.