The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court accepted the second indictment that involves 56 suspects in the trial prepared by prosecutors Zekeriya Öz, Fikret Seçen, Ercan Şafak and Murat Yönder on March 25, 2009. The court, which held the first hearing on the first indictment on October 20, 2008, set the date for the first hearing on the second indictment for Monday July 20.
The court decided to take a summer break on the trial on the first indictment on Friday June 12. A courthouse built inside the Silivri Prison complex was prepared for the second Ergenekon case. During the hearing on Monday, the president of the court, three members of the court and two public prosecutors will be present. Former Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department chief Serdar Saçan, former Esenyurt Mayor Gürbüz Çapan, journalist Tuncay Özkan, retired generals Arif Doğan and Hasan Atilla Uğur among other arrested suspects will attend their first hearing approximately one year later.
The hearing for Retired Brig. Gen. Levent Ersöz will take six months and the hearing for Cumhuriyet Daily's Ankara representative Mustafa Balbay will take four-and-a-half months. During the hearing, suspects will first listen to the court's reason for accepting the indictment and then be asked to confirm their identities. After that the prosecutors will read the indictment. The court may announce that it will merge the second indictment case with the first during the hearing.
From the indictment
The five-part second indictment is 1,909 pages and deals with 56 suspects. The first section contains a summary of the first phase of the Ergenekon investigation and the first indictment. The second section provides information on later phases of the investigation and the organization described as “Ergenekon.” The third section deals with the crimes committed by the organization and the fourth section addresses other activities carried out by the organization and its relations with other organizations, including nongovernmental and media organizations. The fifth section details individual activities carried out by the suspects, the crimes these activities constitute and their punishments.
Retired Gen. Mehmet Şener Eruygur who was released from custody for health reasons two-and-a-half months after being arrested and retired Gen. Hurşit Tolon who was also released from custody seven months after he was arrested are being charged for setting up and leading a terror organization, recording personal data, attempting to destroy the government of the Republic of Turkey or to block it from performing its duties, destroying, distorting, stealing and acquiring secret documents on national security, exerting influence over the judiciary, provoking armed unrest against the government, attempting to destroy the Turkish Parliament and blocking it from performing its duties, predetermining murder, carrying explosives, firing weapons that pose a threat to people's life, health and property or that incite fear, concern and panic, damaging property and for acquiring prohibited documents. The indictment demands punishing Eruygur and Tolon, who are being accused with leading an organization and being responsible for the attack on the State Council and Cumhuriyet Daily's bureau, with a triple sentence of between 142 to 246 years imprisonment and a triple sentence of 129 to 219 years imprisonment respectively.
Life without parole for 11 suspects
Ergenekon suspects Brig. Gen. Erzöz and retired Col. Hasan Atilla Uğur, who are both in custody, are being charged for leading an armed terror organization, illegally recording personal information, possessing and carrying a small amount of bullets, carrying one armed weapon, attempting to destroy the government and preventing it from performing it duties, provoking armed unrest against the government, attempting to destroy Parliament and preventing it from performing its duties and committing fraud. The indictment requests two consecutive life sentences of between 39 and 66 years imprisonment without the possibility of parole for Erzöz and Uğur.
Suspects Balbay, Ahmet Tuncay Özkan, Durmuş Ali Özoğlu, İbrahim Özcan, Kemal Aydın, Neriman Aydın and Ankara Chamber of Commerce President Sinan Aygün, who was released pending trial, could face two consecutive life sentences of between 16 and 80 years imprisonment without the possibility of parole for committing similar crimes.
Fugitive former deputy Turhan Çömez could face an aggravated life sentence of seven-and –a-half to 15 years imprisonment for attempting to destroy the government and prevent if from performing its duties and for being a member of an armed terror organization and Birol Başaran could face an aggravated life sentence of 30 to 45 years imprisonment for similar crimes.
Benzer Haberler 
National
