A Turkish court has handed down 17 life sentences in the ‘Ergenekon’ trial of nearly 300 alleged coup plotters, including for ex-army chief Ilker Basbug and several other ex-top brass, along with leftist party leaders and a journalist.
The other sentences in the case ranged from one year and three
months to 117 years behind bars, and the charges included
instigating an armed uprising against Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan’s government, “aiding a terrorist organization”
and conducting anti-state activities.
Retired Brig. Gen. Veli Kucuk, who was convicted of founding and
heading the clandestine, secularist ultra-nationalist
organization known as Ergenekon, received a double aggravated
life sentence as well as an additional 99 years and one month in
prison.
Prominent civilian suspects in the case, including journalist
Tuncay Ozkan, Workers’ Party leader Dogu Perincek, accused of
“leading a terrorist organization,” and lawyer Alparslan
Aslan, identified as the assailant in the Turkish Council of
State attack also received aggravated life sentences with
additional years of imprisonment from the court.
Only 21 defendants were acquitted, and 16 others were released
after the court took into consideration the time they spent in
detention during the 6-year trial.
The court’s verdict has not yet come into power, and indictments are to be reviewed by Turkish Supreme Court. Several defendants have already announced they will appeal.
Turkish security forces were braced for large protests from the opposition at Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, where the verdicts were announced.
Despite bans for rallies being issued prior to the verdict delivery, demonstrators started arriving to the courthouse since early in the morning. Critics of Erdogan’s government, including the main opposition party, have described the trial as a “political witch hunt” aimed at cracking down on the country’s strong secularist traditions.
RT’s Irina Galushko, reporting from outside the prison complex, said local media estimated the number of security personnel at 10,000, with 13 water cannons having been spotted at the site.
So far it looks like: known mafia boss -10yrs; ret.army col -37yrs; a writer 20yrs; ret. brig.general -life #turkey#ergenekon
— Irina Galushko (@IrinaGalushkoRT) August 5, 2013
Reports emerged later of tear gas, rubber bullets and water
cannons being used against protesters who gathered outside the
Silivri complex.
BREAKING:#Turkey:#Ergenekon verdicts: report of police firing rubber bullets on crowds in front of Silivri courthouse:http://t.co/IGihXDa6u5
— Laura Wells (@wellsla) August 5, 2013
“@AChristieMiller: Tear gas now... pic.twitter.com/t2JxwKZW0z” report from the field (literally) #ergenekon#turkey
— Irina Galushko (@IrinaGalushkoRT) August 5, 2013
The 2,455-page indictment listed dozens of charges against
the 275 defendants, including accusations of them being members
of an alleged ultranationalist terrorist network Ergenekon,
which, according to the court, conspired to overthrow Erdogan’s
government. Prosecutors had insisted on life sentences for 64 of
the defendants.
KEY SENTENCES
Military and Police
Life sentences or more: Former armed forces chief General İlker Başbuğ, Former army commander Hurşit Tolon, Retired Col. Dursun Çiçek, Retired Col. Fuat Selvi, Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, retired generals Nusret Taşdeler, Hasan Iğsız and Şener Eruygur, Retired Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük, Capt. Muzaffer Tekin.
49 years: Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez.
47 years: Retired Col. Arif Doğan.
41 years: Retired Maj. Fikret Emek.
Politicians
Life: Workers’ Party leader Doğu Perinçek.
21 years: Workers' Party Press Secretary Hikmet Çiçek.
15 Years: Workers' Party Secretary-General Ferit İlsever.
Journalists, academics, lawyers
Life: Journalist Tuncay Özkan and lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz.
34 years: Journalist Mustafa Balbay.
22 years: Professor Yalçın Küçük.
Mafia bosses
12 years: Semih Tufan Gülaltay.
10 years: Drug lord Sami Hoştan.
The case was opened in 2007 when 27 hand grenades were discovered in a house in Istanbul. Accusations soon began circulating that the explosives were intended to be deployed in an coup attempt. The number of suspects and allegations continued to balloon over the proceeding five years.
Army officers, politicians, scientists, journalists and lawyers would later be implicated in the scheme. All of the accused deny the charges which have been levied against them.
One of the most notable arrests was the January 2012 detention of
ex-military chief Ilker Basbug. That members of the military
feature so prominently in the case has sparked accusations that
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan is attempting to purge the military
in a bid to put it under his thumb. The Turkish military staged
three coups between 1960 and 1980 and also forced a pro-Islamist
government out of office in 1997. Over the past weekend four
senior military officials were dismissed from their posts.
“People here say that essentially Ergenikon is just a pretense
under which the Prime Minister is taking people who he personally
does not like and putting them in jail so as to get rid of
dissident voices,” RT's Irina Galushko reports from Istanbul.
Critics of the case include the main opposition party, who argue
the charges brought against the accused are vague and the trial
has dragged on for a suspiciously long period of time. They have
further decried the use of anonymous witnesses as unacceptable.
Critics of the proceedings have further characterized it as a
politically motivated attempt on the part of Ergdogan’s Islamist
government to stifle secularist activists in the country.
“This trial has been ridiculous and it ends with the verdict
expected from the beginning that will be no surprise for no one.
And it will be the end of trust in Erdogan’s government for a lot
of people and it also is the end for the judicial system of
Turkey,” Yunus Soner, from the Workers Party of Turkey, told
RT.
Court hearings concerning the so-called Ergenekon trial have
regularly led to violent clashes between the defendants’ supporters and
police.
The trial is wrapping up in an already politically volatile
climate, as Turkey has witnessed anti-government rallies on a
near weekly basis, with the latest having taken place over the
weekend. Monday’s verdict is expected to trigger further unrest.