Ergenekon suspect on leave for funeral

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

Lt Col Mustafa Dönmez is given a total of four days’ leave for the funeral. AA photo

Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez, one of the arrested suspects in the ongoing Ergenekon case, learned yesterday that he had lost his 21-year-old son in a traffic accident in Azerbaijan on Sept. 1, and has been given a total of four days’ leave in order to attend the funeral. Dönmez received the news of his son’s death during his trial at court.

The body of the Mustafa Dönmez’s son, Alp Kaan Dönmez, was brought to Turkey on the evening of Sept. 1 on a plane. He will be buried in the northwestern province of Balıkesir’s Bandırma district, where his grandmother Altay Sabah lives. A student majoring in mechanical engineering, he had gone to Azerbaijan to complete an internship.

The funeral ceremony was postponed to Sept. 3, so that Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez could attend. A total of four days of leave was given to Dönmez.

Meanwhile, the convicts of Malatya Zirve Publishing House Massacre case appeared before the judge for the 40th time yesterday. Hurşit Tolon, who is regarded as the top suspect in the additional indictment, and is currently under arrest in Silivri prison as part of the Ergenekon case, did not attend the hearing.

In July, a court in the eastern province of Malatya decided to add a new indictment to the existing one.
The indictment included evidence against Gen. Hurşit Tolon, former top commander of the Turkish armed forces.

Three missionaries, were tied up and tortured before having their throats slit at the Zirve Publishing House, a Christian publisher, in the eastern province of Malatya on April 18, 2007.