Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 17 2009

Ergenekon suspect to give testimony in Malatya murder case

Ergün Poyraz, a journalist known for his controversial writing,
was detained by counterterrorism teams in late July 2007 on suspicion
of having links to the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces
(VKGB)
The co-plaintiff lawyers in the brutal murders of three Christians in
a Malatya publishing house in 2007 have requested that one of the
suspects arrested in 2007 as part of an operation into Ergenekon, a
shadowy crime network that has alleged links within the state, testify
in court as a witness in the Malatya murder case.

The Ergenekon suspect in question, Ergün Poyraz, a journalist
known for his controversial writing, was detained by counterterrorism
teams in late July 2007 on suspicion of having links to the
Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), a gang whose
members include retired army members and which is believed to have
connections not only to petty crime but also to acts aimed at stirring
political tension and inciting chaos. He was later arrested and put in
jail.

The 14th hearing of the Malatya case was held yesterday at the Malatya
3rd High Criminal Court.

Ergenekon is a behind-the-scenes network attempting to use social and
psychological engineering to shape the country in accordance with its
own ultranationalist ideology. The group is suspected not only in the
Malatya murder case, but also in various other attacks and
assassinations, including the killing of Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink in early 2007. In November, the judge presiding over the Malatya
murder case announced that the indictment against Ergenekon was merged
with the Malatya murder case. The decision marked an important step in
the trial, during which lawyers representing the victims’ families had
continuously insisted that the murder of the three Christians was not
simply a hate crime, but something that goes much deeper.

Recent evidence collected in the Ergenekon investigation also
suggested that the brutal killings might have been organized by
Ergenekon, which is suspected of a large number of murders and
bombings aimed at creating chaos in the country to serve the
organization’s ultimate purpose of overthrowing the government.

The court adjourned the case to Feb. 20 in order to make the
procedural preparations for Poyraz’s testimony.

On April 18, 2007, Necati Aydın (35), UÄ?ur Yüksel
and German national Tilmann Ekkehart Geske (46) were tied to their
chairs, tortured and stabbed at the Zirve publishing house in the
eastern Anatolian city of Malatya before their throats were slit. The
publishing house they worked for printed Bibles and Christian
literature. Suspects S.G., C.Ã-., H.T. and A.Y., whose full names
were not disclosed because of their ages, were caught at the crime
scene and immediately taken into custody. The main suspect, Emre
Günaydın, jumped from a third-story window while
attempting to escape from police and was taken into custody after a
hospital stay.

17 January 2009, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES Ä°STANBUL