Ergenekon indictment built on telephone tap
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 27, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Wiretaps and documents found in suspects’ computers are the basis of the accusations leveled against the two retired generals in the add-on indictment in the controversial Ergenekon case, which was accepted Wednesday by an Istanbul court.
The two retired generals, Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon, were actively involved in plans to topple the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, both during the time they were in the military and after their retirement, said the indictment.
Charges against Eruygur, who retired in 2004 as the gendarmerie commander, fill 132 pages of the 1,909-page indictment. Among the charges are the recording of secret data of individuals, collection of state secrets and incitement of violence against the government. The prosecutor has asked for a sentence of three life terms for Eruygur.
The add-on indictment makes accusations against 56 suspects, 19 of whom are under arrest, and is the first such document to be added to the original, which contained 86 suspects.
A second add-on indictment involving 77 more suspects, 48 of whom are under arrest, is currently underway, reports said.
The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades June 12, 2007, in a shanty house in Istanbul's Ümraniye district belonging to a retired noncommissioned officer. The grenades were found to be the same as those used in the attacks on daily Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul offices in 2006.
The findings led to scores of detentions, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders and politicians under interrogation in what turned into a terror investigation that sought to crack down on an alleged ultra-nationalist gang named Ergenekon, which sought to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 through initially inciting chaos and mayhem.
Tolon, who retired in 2005, was the leader of the alleged gang, called Ergenekon by the public, and established links with several NGOs in order to mobilize support against the government. He met with many senior officials and party leaders while he served as the commander of the First Army and after his retirement, giving them various orders. He also faces three life terms if found guilty.
Many of those businessmen, writers and political leaders are listed as suspects in the indictment.
Charges against Eruygur, who retired in 2004 as the gendarmerie commander, fill 132 pages of the 1,909-page indictment. Among the charges are the recording of secret data of individuals, collection of state secrets and incitement of violence against the government. The prosecutor has asked for a sentence of three life terms for Eruygur.
The add-on indictment makes accusations against 56 suspects, 19 of whom are under arrest, and is the first such document to be added to the original, which contained 86 suspects.
A second add-on indictment involving 77 more suspects, 48 of whom are under arrest, is currently underway, reports said.
The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades June 12, 2007, in a shanty house in Istanbul's Ümraniye district belonging to a retired noncommissioned officer. The grenades were found to be the same as those used in the attacks on daily Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul offices in 2006.
The findings led to scores of detentions, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders and politicians under interrogation in what turned into a terror investigation that sought to crack down on an alleged ultra-nationalist gang named Ergenekon, which sought to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 through initially inciting chaos and mayhem.
Tolon, who retired in 2005, was the leader of the alleged gang, called Ergenekon by the public, and established links with several NGOs in order to mobilize support against the government. He met with many senior officials and party leaders while he served as the commander of the First Army and after his retirement, giving them various orders. He also faces three life terms if found guilty.
Many of those businessmen, writers and political leaders are listed as suspects in the indictment.