‘Coup plot trial’s speed not fast’: PM Erdoğan

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he is not happy with the speed of the Ergenekon coup plot trials.

“The speed is not pleasing, it could have been faster,” Erdoğan told a group of journalists on a plane en route to Ankara from Madrid when asked about his opinion on the Ergenekon trial’s final stages.

Court refuses to merge cases
An Istanbul court rejected merging the coup plot trial Ergenekon with two similar cases, the OdaTV and OYAK cases, on Nov. 27. The court also ruled to give the case file to the prosecutor at his request and to allow him to prepare his deliberations.

The ruling hints at the possibility that the case is coming to an end, as suspects will be asked for their last words after deliberations. Ergenekon is an alleged ultranationalist gang accused of plotting to overthrow the government by fomenting chaos in society. The case includes 275 suspects, 66 of whom are under arrest, and 18 of the indictments have been merged.