ERGENEKON INDICTMENT TO BE REVEALED, NO DISCLOSURE OF CONTENT PROMISED

Turkish Daily News
July 14 2008
Turkey

Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor is expected to reveal the Ergenekon
indictment, a year after the beginning of the investigation and several
postponements. The prosecutor maintains he will not delve into details
of the content but will share information mostly relevant to content
of the indictment. Prosecutors who prepared the file tracked down
several alleged coup attempts organized by retired generals

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

The Ergenekon case, which rocked the country with police raids and
arrests, enters a new stage today as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor is
expected to reveal the long-awaited indictment.

Chief Public Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin will make a declaration
today on the Ergenekon case’s indictment, but he said he would not
disclose information about its content. The country’s newspapers have
suggested it includes information on three coup attempts and a fourth
one planned by an organization named the "Republican Working Group."

The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office finished the 2,455
page-long indictment a year and a month after the investigation
began. Prosecutors Zekeriya Oz, Mehmet Pekguzel and Nihat TaÅ~_kın
prepared the indictment and Oz delivered the completed file to
Engin. The document includes names of 48 arrested people, among
them retired Brig. Gen. Veli Kucuk and Workers’ Party, or Ä°P,
leader Dogu Perincek, and 85 suspects. It also contains names of
20 witnesses that were kept anonymous as a measure of protection,
newspapers claimed yesterday.

‘Gang poised to spark chaos’:

Details on the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink and an
armed assault on the Council of State are included in the indictment,
with the assault covered in 60 pages. The two cases were referred to
as actions aimed at sparking chaos in the country.

Engin said today’s announcement on the case would address the
indictment’s form and that he would not give information on suspects
at large nor clarify exactly who is charged with what. He will
inform the public on the number of detainees, people under arrest and
accusations in general. A publication ban and secrecy on the content
of the indictment will last until a court officially accepts the
case. Prosecutors will not stop after submission of the indictment,
however, as they will open a new file for suspects still monitored
by wiretaps.

The indictment also includes information on alleged meetings and
seminars of Kucuk, Perincek, spokeswoman of the Turkish Orthodox
Patriarchate Sevgi Erenerol, Great Jurists Association Chairman
Kemal Kerincsiz and the organized crime network leader Sedat Peker,
outside the country.

Files of generals separated

An additional indictment will be prepared for retired generals,
Å~^ener Eruygur and HurÅ~_it Tolon.

Tolon, former first army commander, is the head of the Ataturk
Thought Association, or ADD, whereas Eruygur was the gendarmerie
commander. Tolon’s name is often mentioned in connection with alleged
attempts to wreak havoc in the country to prepare suitable ground for
the ruling Justice and Development Party’s, or AKP, forcible removal
from power.

The latest wave of arrests included Ankara Chamber of Commerce,
or ATO, Chairman Sinan Aygun.

The indictment is one of the longest witnessed in Turkish history,
as its content is divided under 40 headings and its 400 file-long
annexes filled up three DVDs. Accusations against some high profile
figures arrested in Ergenekon operations are as much as 150 pages long.

The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades
in a shanty house that belonged to a retired noncommissioned officer
in Istanbul’s Umraniye district on June 12, 2007.

Following the announcement of the Ergenekon indictment, the Court
for Serious Crimes, which is in summer recess, will determine which
court will hear the case and convey the dossier and its annexes. The
designated court will decide in 15 days whether to accept the
case or send the indictment back to prosecutors highlighting any
deficiencies. Once the court agrees to hear the case it will set a
trial date.

–Boundary_(ID_j7QRP+N4CxhW3CkPXfN6vg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress