ANOTHER SCANDAL BRINGS ERGENEKON AND IP CLOSER

Today’s Zaman
Jan 16 2009
Turkey

A medical report that saved an Ergenekon suspect from imprisonment
has revealed yet another scandal, bringing to light links between the
criminal organization and the Workers’ Party (Ä°P), whose leader was
arrested last year for suspected membership in Ergenekon, the Vatan
daily reported yesterday.

The Ä°P has for long claimed that it strongly fought to shed light
on the mystery surrounding the Susurluk scandal — a car crash
which revealed gang involvement with the police force; however, a
medical report that spared Ergenekon suspect Ä°brahim Å~^ahin from
imprisonment in the 1996 Susurluk scandal revealed that one of the
doctors who contributed to the preparation of the report was an Ä°P
member, according to a report published by Vatan yesterday.

Å~^ahin was a scandalous figure in the Susurluk case. He received six
years imprisonment and was barred from public service in the Susurluk
trial. He obtained a medical report in 2003 certifying that he had
suffered permanent damage to his brain and ears as a result of an
accident in 2000 in addition to a number of psychological problems. He
was later pardoned by former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

The Ä°P member doctor, Professor Erbil GözukırmızÄ& #xB1;, also had
very close ties with Ä°P deputy leader Ferit Ä°lsever, Professor
Emin Gurses, former Ä°stanbul University Rector Kemal Alemdaroglu and
businessman Ä°brahim Benli — all Ergenekon suspects. GözukırmızÄ& #xB1;
was also a member of a committee established by former Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Rauf DenktaÅ~_ to refute claims
of an Armenian "genocide" in 1915.

Gözukırmız ı, however, denied claims that he contributed to a
false report to save Å~^ahin from imprisonment, saying: "We wrote
in the report what we observed. The Forensic Medicine Council is
not a decision-making body; it deals with consulting. How can a
doctor who has taken the Hippocratic Oath prepare a report at odds
with his observations? In any case, I do not know Å~^ahin’s health
condition. There may have been changes or improvements over time,"
he said.

Gözukırmız ı is not the only suspicious individual tied to
Å~^ahin’s medical report. It was previously revealed that Dr. Nur
Birgen, who chaired the Forensic Medicine Council’s 3rd Specialized
Board — which prepared the report leading to Å~^ahin’s release — was
twice involved in preparing false medical reports and was, therefore,
temporarily barred from practice in 1995 and 2005.

–Boundary_(ID_zAwENKUNaRIghKpkowQpTA)–