Prosecutor Cihaner on Trial as "Ergenekon" Defendant

On 4 May, the Special Authority 2^nd High Criminal Court in Erzurum (north-western Turkey) started the prosecution of 14 defendants, among them Erzincan Public Chief Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner. The defendants stand accused of suppressing congregations in Erzincan (north-western Turkey) by creating false evidence and are tried under charges of "establishing the Ergenekon terror organization".

The clandestine ultra-national Ergenekon organisation, allegedly nested within the state and the military, is said to have planned to overthrow the government and to create chaos in the country with murders and attacks.

Defendant Cihaner's lawyer Turgut Kazan had previously applied for lack of jurisdiction and thus sending the file to the Court of Appeals. President Judge Mustafa Karatay announced that the request was dismissed by majority vote.

The lawyer of detained defendants Şinasi Demir, National Intelligence Agency (MIT) Erzincan branch manager, and MIT members Sadri Barkın İnce and Kıvılcım Üstel had requested to obtain permission for the prosecution from the Ministry of Justice. The court dismissed this request as well, assessing the offence as a "personal crime".

Ten out of a total of 14 defendants are in detention. 3^rd Army Commander General Saldıray Berk did not attend the first hearing of the case even though he was summoned to give his statement. He did not respond to the prosecutor's writ twice in a row by reason of being on duty.

Berk's lawyer Zeynel Yüksel had also applied for lack of jurisdiction regarding his client and requested to transfer the file to the General Staff Military Court. The court however announced that Berk has not yet presented his defence. Also Cihaner's defence was not made on the subject of the matter but was related to lack of jurisdiction and contradiction of the Constitution.

Lawyer Kazan criticized the fact that representatives of only six news agencies were allowed into the court room and that some national media representatives were denied access giving the small size of the court room as the reason for the restriction. The trial continues today (5 May).

14 defendants face 28 years imprisonment

Among the defendants mentioned in the 61-pages indictment are Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Senior Colonel Recep Gençoğlu and Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Colonel Ali Tapan.

Defendants Cihaner, Gençoğlu, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Branch Manager Gendarmerie Commander Nedim Ersan, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Deputy Chief Gendarmerie Lieutenant Ersin Ergut, MIT officials Şinasi Demir, Kıvılcım Üstel and Sadri Barkın İnce, military officer Şenol Bozkurt, Yaylabaşı Police Station Commander Murat Yılıdz and Orhan Esirger are detained in the Erzurum H Type Closed Prison. 3^rd Army Intelligence Presidency Planning Education army officer Ahmet Saraçlar and hospital owner Erdal Erdoğan are tried un-detained.

The indictment demands imprisonment of five to 28 years for Cihaner under charges of "membership of an armed terror organization", "forgery of official documents of a public official" and "threatening more than one person".

Recep Gençoğlu, Nedim Ersan, Ersin Ergut, Şinasi Demir, Kıvılcım Üstel, Sadri Barkın İnce, Şenol Bozkurt, Murat Yıldız, Orhan Esirger , Ahmet Saraçlar, Erdal Erdoğan, Saldıray Berk, Ali Tapan and Yaşar Baş each face imprisonment of between 7.5 and 15 years under charges of "membership of an illegal organization". (EÖ)