Court ‘done with hearing witnesses’

ISTANBUL - DoğanNews Agency

An Istanbul court hearing the Ergenekon coup-plot case has rejected further witness testimonies. Some key witnesses, such as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Şamil Tayyar and former National Intelligence Agency (MİT) chief Şenkal Atasagun, will not be given the floor.

The 13th High Criminal Court board also rejected on Jan. 11 some 67 suspects’ demands to be released and postponed the case to Feb. 18.

Chief Judge Hasan Hüseyin Özese summed up the four-year proceedings in numbers as a response to criticisms from lawyers who said their clients’ right to a defense was violated.

In total, 576 hearings were held in four years and two months, more than 39,000 pages of court documents were recorded and nearly 7,100 interim judgments were given by the court board, Özköse said.

Özköse also said the court board asked for supportive documents from many courts across Turkey, raising the total number of files received to 2,538.

Lawyers of the defendants demanded 835 witnesses be heard by the court but only 57 witnesses were asked for their testimonies by the court board.