Turkey, Ergenekon Indictment

[Sapphire Capital]

July 14, 2008

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor had filed on Monday the long-awaited indictment on the controversial Ergenekon case against 85 defendants charged with forming a terror group with the aim of overthrowing the government by force. The court would decide within two weeks whether to open the case.

Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin unveiled the elements of the indictment at a brief news conference.

The lack of an indictment in the operation, and the detainment of anti-AKP politicians, journalists and intellectuals without any legal charge raised eyebrows in Turkey, as many questioned whether the operation is being used to suppress opponents of the government.

The Ergenekon operation, which started in June 2007 with the discovery of grenades in a house in Istanbul’s Umraniye district, is allegedly a crackdown on an illegal organization believed to be planning provoking events that would pave the way for a military coup to overthrow the AKP government.

The extent of the operation had widened since the closure case against the AKP filed in March. Although the closure case and the Ergenekon case are separate legal processes, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had linked the two cases saying the closure case against the AKP was filed due to the government’s determination in the Ergenekon case.

FORMING A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

The indictment charges 86 suspects, including retired army officers, anti-government journalists and intellectuals, with the allegations of “forming a terrorist organization, being a member of a terrorist organization, helping a terrorist organization,” Engin told reporters.

“The definition of terror (in the indictment) should not be taken in a conventional meaning. According to Article 1 of the Anti-Terror law, those are charged with the crimes of endangering the existence of the Turkish State and Republic, weakening or destroying or seizing the authority of the State, eliminating fundamental rights and freedoms, or damaging the internal and external security of the State, public order,” he added.

Forty-eight of the suspects, including Retired Colonel Veli Kucuk and Workers’ Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek, are being held in custody while the remaining 38 were released to be tried without detention, Engin said.

Prior to latest arrests, 49 people including Kucuk, Perincek and businessman Kuddisi Okkir, were arrested under the probe. The number of arrest reduced to 48 after Okkir died of cancer in hospital on July 6.

Ilhan Selcuk, a prominent leftist columnist of the anti-AKP Cumhuriyet daily, and Kemal Alemdaroglu, former rector of Istanbul University, were detained in March 2008. The two were later released on probation.

The indictment does not include those who were detained on July 1 under the probe. An additional indictment will be written for 21 people. Seven of those suspects including retired Gen. and Kemalist Thought Association Chairman Sener Eruygur, Retired Gen. Hursit Tolon, Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Chairman Sinan Aygun were arrested.

MEDIA STORIES

Some media organs, with close links to the government, have been publishing reports based on the information from documents allegedly seized during the operation. These stories had included a gradual coup plan.

Istanbul's chief prosecutor denied all media reports regarding the indictment and the operation, adding those reports create "information pollution".

Engin also said the Ergenekon operation is not related to the so-called "coup diaries", which were published by a magazine in 2007. The report, which claimed army commanders planned two coups in 2004, is allegedly based on the diaries of Ret. Gen. Ozden Ornek, a former navy forces commander

[Sapphire Capital]

Pundits say indictment proves Ergenekon operation in earnest


Jurists and journalists who commented on the announcement of the Ergenekon indictment, which was made public yesterday, have emphasized that the accusations contained in the indictment have once again demonstrated the seriousness of the Ergenekon case. They called on everyone to wait calmly and patiently until the end of the judicial process.

Sami Selçuk (Honorary President of the Supreme Court of Appeals): The appendices related to the same indictment can, of course, be added to the main indictment. That, too, is an indictment; it can be added to the main indictment at any time, and the conditions it is bound by are defined in the law. In my opinion, the case will be heard in a civil court. But I deem it improper to reveal my exact view on the issue. The military courts' powers have been further limited through the changes made to the Military Criminal Code. As far as I'm concerned, the investigation is proceeding on the right track. If the suspects were supposed to be tried in a military court, our public prosecutor friends would have sent them there in the first place.

Mete Göktürk (Retired Prosecutor): I think that making comments before reading the indictment is wrong. It would also be wrong to conclude at this early stage that the "mountain has given birth to a mouse." Making such a remark would be tantamount to influencing the judiciary in another way. Now that they concluded that the grenades used in the Council of State attack and the attack against the Cumhuriyet daily were from the same series, they dwell on the issue at length in the indictment. But what is their proof? It's impossible for us to know that at this point. Whether they are actually related to the case will be decided by the court.

Adem Sözüer (Professor): An indictment has been written and submitted to the court for deliberation. The accusations included therein have been partially revealed. There was nothing new in the statement today. The chief prosecutor made a statement because it is an event that has captured the attention of the public and caused everyone to have certain expectations. You cannot say the "mountain has given birth to a mouse" based on this brief explanation. Just by relying on this explanation you cannot conclude that these people actually committed the crimes mentioned in the indictment or did not commit them. Only when the indictment has been fully disclosed will we be able to assess whether such long periods of detention were really necessary. Everybody should wait calmly and there should be the optimal atmosphere for a fair trial.

Alper Görmüþ (Journalist): It's possible that they may have disregarded the coup diaries in this indictment, too. They may be brought up in the process after the trials. Ultimately, this country has a legislative and executive body, a judiciary and a media, and there are certain duties incumbent on everybody. We cannot overlook this fact.

Mustafa Karaalioðlu (Star Editor-in-Chief): The accusations stated by the chief prosecutor were the anticipated ones. These accusations have once again proved how serious an issue Ergenekon is. Looking at it from the public's point of view, we would be wondering about the evidence on which the accusations are based. Mr. Baykal having declared himself a lawyer for the defendants is very dangerous for the case. Further stages of the trial may get Baykal into trouble. Also, establishing a link between this case and the closure case would cast a shadow on the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Ergenekon operation began before the July 22 elections.

Özdemir Özok (Turkish Bar Association (TBB) President): The indictment has not yet been fully disclosed, and it hasn't been accepted by the court yet, either. We see that the Ýstanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office was disturbed by this case, which has been occupying the most important part of the country's agenda as well as attracting the attention of domestic and foreign media companies, and was therefore forced into making such a statement. To me, it has no legal grounds. In addition, the prosecutor making a new definition of terrorism after he revealed the accusations against the suspects and defendants was very wrong. Terrorism already has a certain definition. Also, from the statement of the prosecutor we can conclude that he doesn't have a full grasp of the case. They are not as focused as they should be. The claims of the chief prosecutor are very grave ones. I pray they have the necessary information and documents to prove these claims; otherwise, there will be significant problems.

15 July 2008, Tuesday