‘Merged’ Ergenekon trial held in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

Relatives of the suspects wait in front of the courthouse in Istanbul’s Silivri district. The total number of suspects implicated in the trial has risen to 256. DHA photo

The 177th hearing of the ongoing Ergenekon probe took place in an Istanbul court yesterday, following the merging of the first and second Ergenekon trials on April 27, in addition to the investigation into the “Action Plan to Combat Reactionism.”

The total number of suspects implicated in the trial had risen to 256 in consequence of the merging of the two cases on April 27. Some 16 indictments were merged in the ongoing case.

The suspects, 61 of whom are under arrest pending trial, include high-profile figures such as former Chief of Staff İlker Başbuğ, Ret. Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük and deputies Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Former Chief of Staff İlker Başbuğ did not participate the hearing yesterday.

It was reportedly said he would not sit in the dock as a defendant with “gang members and killers,” according to reports.

Meanwhile, arrested case suspect Osman Yıldırım also attempted to attack Tuncay Özkan and Yalçın Küçük after being brought into the courtroom in the company of gendarmerie troops yesterday.

Chief Justice Hüseyin Özese announced a ruling that Yıldırım would be barred from attending all successive trials until his final defense.