The investigation into the clandestine ultra-nationalist Ergenekon organisation started when a weapons arsenal was found in a home in Istanbul. Since then, there have been many waves of arrests.

On 10 July 2008, the first court case was opened, but investigations continued. The Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court started hearing the case on 20 October 2008.

56 suspects considered

The second indictment, 1909 pages long, deals with 56 suspects arrested in the sixth, seventh and eighth waves of arrests. 21 of these suspects are in detention, while 35 will be tried without detention.

Yesterday (10 March), the new indictment was sent to the Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court. It accuses retired generals Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon (pictured on the left) of attempting to overthrow the government. 12 other people stand accused of heading an illegal organisation.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecution has announced that the Ergenekon investigation has been concluded. The court will examine the second indictment and accept or reject it within the next 15 days.

Should the indictment be rejected, prosecutors would be told to reexamine it.

Relations to leftist and Islamist militant organisations

The indictment states that the “Republican Rallies” of 2007 were attempts to overthrow the government using non-democratic means. It also proposes links between Ergenekon and the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the militant Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C) and the militant Islamist Hizbullah.

Third indictment on its way

The first part of the five-part indictment contains a summary of the first indictment. In the second part, operations against Ergenekon are described, while the third part contains the accusations levelled at the organisation.

The fourth part deals with relations to other organisations and the media, while the last part deals with accusations directed at individuals.

The prosecution has announced that the investigation into 77 further suspects, 48 of them in detention, is continuing and that a third indictment will be prepared. (BÇ/AG)