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RELEASE OF SUSPECTS PART OF GOV'T PLAN TO MEND TIES WITH ERGENEKON, ANALYSTS SAY
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 10 2014
10 March 2014 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
The recent release and pending trial of suspects in the brutal killing
of three Christians at the Zirve Publishing House as well as that
of the key suspect in the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink is part of a
government strategy to mend ties with individuals connected to the
Ergenekon case, analysts say.
"This is an effort [on the part of the government] to make up with
[members of society connected with] the Ergenekon [case]," Orhan Kemal
Cengiz, a lawyer and expert in human rights cases, told Today's Zaman.
According to Cengiz, the government, which has been embattled by a
sweeping graft probe made public on Dec. 17, wants to give a message
to society that it, like those convicted the Ergenekon and Balyoz
coup cases, is a victim. Cengiz believes the government's move to
hastily pass a law that paved the way for the suspects' release
is part of a strategy by which the government seeks to mend ties
with those convicted in the Ergenekon case and to present itself
as a victim of members of the police force and the judiciary who
launched a recent graft investigation into widespread government
corruption. Cengiz believes that there are people in the Ergenekon
case who were unjustly imprisoned, but that the government's strategy
has dangerous implications for democracy in Turkey.
As per a recently passed law that decreased the maximum period
of detention to five years, five suspects in the Zirve Publishing
House case along with one of the key suspects in the murder of Dink,
a Turkish-Armenian journalist killed in 2007, were also released
pending trial on Friday, a move that has made Christians in Turkey
concerned for their safety.
As part of its smear campaign against the Hizmet movement, inspired by
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, the government claims that it
is under attack by sympathizers of the Hizmet movement. Since the graft
probe, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other members of his
government have repeatedly implicated the Hizmet movement, referring
to it as a "parallel structure" nested within the judiciary and the
police force. The government has not provided any evidence of a coup
underway, but on numerous occasions, the prime minister has described
the ongoing corruption investigation as a plot against the government.
Three Christians, Necati Aydın, Ugur Yuksel and German national
Tilmann Ekkehart Geske were killed on April 18, 2007, at the Zirve
Publishing House in Malatya. The victims all had their throats slit.
The suspects of the brutal crime, Emre Gunaydın, Abuzer Yıldırım,
Cuma Ozdemir, Hamit Ceker and Salih Gurler, for whom three aggravated
life sentences have been demanded, were released on probation by
the Malatya 1st High Criminal Court late on Friday night. Four
of the suspects in the Zirve case were apprehended at the scene
and immediately taken into custody, while the fifth suspect, Emre
Gunaydın, jumped from a third-story window in a failed attempt to
escape from police. He was also taken into custody after being treated
for injuries.
In a statement on Monday, the Justice Ministry said four of the
suspects are being monitored by electronic bracelets; the fifth suspect
lives in a village where GSM lines cannot receive signals, so work
is underway activate his electronic bracelet through a landline.
Cengiz said: "But in this big strategy, this [release of the murderers
of innocent people] is seen just as a minor accident. And the big
strategy is dangerous in terms of democracy and human rights in
Turkey." "They [the government] passed the law without taking the
consequences into account," added Cengiz, who is also a columnist
for Today's Zaman.
Following the entry into effect of the law, anyone who has been in
prison for five years without a final verdict on their case will be
released. In addition to several people who were allegedly involved
in the Ergenekon case, Erhan Tuncel, a key suspect in the murder of
Dink was also released on Friday. Dink was the editor-in-chief of
the İstanbul-based Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.
Erdal Dogan, one of the victims' lawyers, also believes that the
recently passed law may be part of a negotiation with people who
defend those convicted in the Ergenekon case. "There seems to be a
political negotiation with Ergenekon following [the graft probe that
went public on] Dec. 17," Dogan told Today's Zaman.
It has been seven years since the Zirve case was first brought before
court. Both Cengiz and Dogan are of the opinion that the Zirve case was
intentionally and unnecessarily delayed. "The main reason is that the
network behind the killing [connected to Ergenekon] was only sought
after a couple of years went by. At the beginning [of the case],
it was only hit men who were tried," Cengiz said.
According to Dogan, the replacement of some of the judges and
prosecutors of the case in 2012 is also another major reason why
the case has taken so long. "The prosecutor who linked the case to
Ergenekon was also removed at the time," he informed.
With regard to advice notes submitted to the prosecutor's office about
a number of members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Malatya
allegedly behind the crime, which were originally not taken into
account, Cengiz said: "The connection with the Ergenekon [criminal
organization] could have been made much earlier. The state puts up
resistance at every stage [of the case]. Behind this case, a network
of relations involving a deep state within the state exists," he said.
Susanne Geske, the widow of the victim Tilmann Geske, told Today's
Zaman that she sees the release of suspects as unjust. Sharing that
they have started to feel threated following the release, Geske, who
lives with her children in Malatya, said: "It is a cause of distrust
[towards justice] that the murderers were released [before the court
issued its final verdict]. This decision has diminished people's
trust in the law."
The case will be transferred to another court, as the recently
passed law has also abolished specially authorized courts. Dogan
is concerned that the case might be dragged on even further if the
judges and prosecutors are replaced while the case is transferred to
another court.
The Association of Protestant Churches of Turkey expressed its concern
over the court's decision in a written statement on Saturday. Noting
that families of the victims and activists from non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) had been threatened by the suspects throughout
the duration of the case's hearings, the statement read: "As things
stand, those who have been threatened are starting to feel rather
uneasy. The releases have deeply saddened Christians [in Turkey]
and led to them losing faith in [the] justice [system]."
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-341732-release-of-suspects-part-of-govt-plan-to-mend-ties-with-ergenekon-analysts-say.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 10 2014
10 March 2014 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
The recent release and pending trial of suspects in the brutal killing
of three Christians at the Zirve Publishing House as well as that
of the key suspect in the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink is part of a
government strategy to mend ties with individuals connected to the
Ergenekon case, analysts say.
"This is an effort [on the part of the government] to make up with
[members of society connected with] the Ergenekon [case]," Orhan Kemal
Cengiz, a lawyer and expert in human rights cases, told Today's Zaman.
According to Cengiz, the government, which has been embattled by a
sweeping graft probe made public on Dec. 17, wants to give a message
to society that it, like those convicted the Ergenekon and Balyoz
coup cases, is a victim. Cengiz believes the government's move to
hastily pass a law that paved the way for the suspects' release
is part of a strategy by which the government seeks to mend ties
with those convicted in the Ergenekon case and to present itself
as a victim of members of the police force and the judiciary who
launched a recent graft investigation into widespread government
corruption. Cengiz believes that there are people in the Ergenekon
case who were unjustly imprisoned, but that the government's strategy
has dangerous implications for democracy in Turkey.
As per a recently passed law that decreased the maximum period
of detention to five years, five suspects in the Zirve Publishing
House case along with one of the key suspects in the murder of Dink,
a Turkish-Armenian journalist killed in 2007, were also released
pending trial on Friday, a move that has made Christians in Turkey
concerned for their safety.
As part of its smear campaign against the Hizmet movement, inspired by
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, the government claims that it
is under attack by sympathizers of the Hizmet movement. Since the graft
probe, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other members of his
government have repeatedly implicated the Hizmet movement, referring
to it as a "parallel structure" nested within the judiciary and the
police force. The government has not provided any evidence of a coup
underway, but on numerous occasions, the prime minister has described
the ongoing corruption investigation as a plot against the government.
Three Christians, Necati Aydın, Ugur Yuksel and German national
Tilmann Ekkehart Geske were killed on April 18, 2007, at the Zirve
Publishing House in Malatya. The victims all had their throats slit.
The suspects of the brutal crime, Emre Gunaydın, Abuzer Yıldırım,
Cuma Ozdemir, Hamit Ceker and Salih Gurler, for whom three aggravated
life sentences have been demanded, were released on probation by
the Malatya 1st High Criminal Court late on Friday night. Four
of the suspects in the Zirve case were apprehended at the scene
and immediately taken into custody, while the fifth suspect, Emre
Gunaydın, jumped from a third-story window in a failed attempt to
escape from police. He was also taken into custody after being treated
for injuries.
In a statement on Monday, the Justice Ministry said four of the
suspects are being monitored by electronic bracelets; the fifth suspect
lives in a village where GSM lines cannot receive signals, so work
is underway activate his electronic bracelet through a landline.
Cengiz said: "But in this big strategy, this [release of the murderers
of innocent people] is seen just as a minor accident. And the big
strategy is dangerous in terms of democracy and human rights in
Turkey." "They [the government] passed the law without taking the
consequences into account," added Cengiz, who is also a columnist
for Today's Zaman.
Following the entry into effect of the law, anyone who has been in
prison for five years without a final verdict on their case will be
released. In addition to several people who were allegedly involved
in the Ergenekon case, Erhan Tuncel, a key suspect in the murder of
Dink was also released on Friday. Dink was the editor-in-chief of
the İstanbul-based Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.
Erdal Dogan, one of the victims' lawyers, also believes that the
recently passed law may be part of a negotiation with people who
defend those convicted in the Ergenekon case. "There seems to be a
political negotiation with Ergenekon following [the graft probe that
went public on] Dec. 17," Dogan told Today's Zaman.
It has been seven years since the Zirve case was first brought before
court. Both Cengiz and Dogan are of the opinion that the Zirve case was
intentionally and unnecessarily delayed. "The main reason is that the
network behind the killing [connected to Ergenekon] was only sought
after a couple of years went by. At the beginning [of the case],
it was only hit men who were tried," Cengiz said.
According to Dogan, the replacement of some of the judges and
prosecutors of the case in 2012 is also another major reason why
the case has taken so long. "The prosecutor who linked the case to
Ergenekon was also removed at the time," he informed.
With regard to advice notes submitted to the prosecutor's office about
a number of members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Malatya
allegedly behind the crime, which were originally not taken into
account, Cengiz said: "The connection with the Ergenekon [criminal
organization] could have been made much earlier. The state puts up
resistance at every stage [of the case]. Behind this case, a network
of relations involving a deep state within the state exists," he said.
Susanne Geske, the widow of the victim Tilmann Geske, told Today's
Zaman that she sees the release of suspects as unjust. Sharing that
they have started to feel threated following the release, Geske, who
lives with her children in Malatya, said: "It is a cause of distrust
[towards justice] that the murderers were released [before the court
issued its final verdict]. This decision has diminished people's
trust in the law."
The case will be transferred to another court, as the recently
passed law has also abolished specially authorized courts. Dogan
is concerned that the case might be dragged on even further if the
judges and prosecutors are replaced while the case is transferred to
another court.
The Association of Protestant Churches of Turkey expressed its concern
over the court's decision in a written statement on Saturday. Noting
that families of the victims and activists from non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) had been threatened by the suspects throughout
the duration of the case's hearings, the statement read: "As things
stand, those who have been threatened are starting to feel rather
uneasy. The releases have deeply saddened Christians [in Turkey]
and led to them losing faith in [the] justice [system]."
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-341732-release-of-suspects-part-of-govt-plan-to-mend-ties-with-ergenekon-analysts-say.html