ERGENEKON TRIAL TO GET MORE SPACE

Hurriyet
June 18 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL -The location where hearings are being held in the
Ergenekon case will be changed in order to accomodate more people
during sessions. The decision was taken by the Justice Ministry to
relocate the trial room within the Silivri prison complex due to
massive interest in the case.

The Justice Ministry has announced that the ongoing Ergenekon trial
will be relocated in order to accommodate more people. The hearings
in the controversial Ergenekon case, currently being held at the
Silivri prison complex, will be moved to a new location within the
same complex.

Ergenekon is an alleged gang that is accused of seeking to topple the
government by creating unrest in the country. The case began with the
discovery of 27 hand grenades in a shanty house in an Istanbul suburb
in 2007. Other events such as the bombing of secular-leaning daily
Cumhuriyet and the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink have been associated with Ergenekon. At the moment, hearings
have been suspended until Aug. 3. Parallel hearings with regard to
suspected retired generals will be held July 20.

Nizamettin Kalaman, the general director of prisons at the Justice
Ministry, said Silivri Prison was suffering from overcrowding, just
like all other prisons. "We cannot find room for suspects and convicts
in Istanbul," he said. "A 20,000-capacity prison is not enough for a
population of 14 million." Kalaman said the construction of two more
buildings at Silivri was still incomplete because of a problem caused
by the contractors.

753-person capacity

According to Kalaman, the sports hall in the Silivri prison complex
is being prepared for use as the new location for the hearings in the
Ergenekon case. The new courtroom can hold 753 people, including the
suspects, lawyers, the audience and members of the press. There is
a section with a 180-person capacity in the middle of the courtroom
for the suspects. For the press, a special section was arranged,
including a cafeteria and a restaurant. Members of the press will be
able to enter the courtroom directly after passing through a single
checkpoint, and there will be parking spaces for vehicles of the press
inside the prison. The former courtroom, with an original capacity
to accommodate 203 people, was enlarged to hold 405 people. Kalaman
said after the end of the Ergenekon trial, the courtroom would be
used as a sports hall again.