The Gang: Usual Trouble Makers in Intellectuals' Trials

Retired brigadier general Veli Kücük, lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and the spokesperson for the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate, Sevgi Erenerol, who were all arrested in the weekend for charges of  "plotting against the government" were already public figures, notorious for the part they played in filing complaints against intellectuals, for the fanfares they staged in front of the court houses during the victims' trials and for their thirst for appearing as co-plaintiffs inside the court rooms.

The agitation they caused in some of the trials which they joined or attempted to join as co-plaintiffs, and the slanders they publicized in the nationalist press has finally paved the way for the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who himself had been on trial and sentenced for “denigrating Turkishness.”

Kücük pulling the strings? 

The Sabah newspaper has reported claims that Veli Kücük may be the person behind the murders of Hrant Dink and academic Necip Hablemitoglu, the murders of three Christians in Malatya, the murder of Ibrahim Ciftci (who was a key suspect in the Hablemitoglu murder and was killed by a hand grenade thrown into his office), as well as the attack on the State Council.

Involvement in case against Turkish Protestants 

Erenerol tried to become a co-plaintiff in a trial against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, both accused of Protestant missionary work and charged with “denigrating Turkishness, inciting to hatred and hostility and collecting data in an illegal manner.” Erenerol’s request was refused.

The plaintiffs in the case are lawyer Kerincsiz and his team. Because the defense lawyer and the defendants were threatened and insulted, there were extraordinary security measures at the last hearing. The court case will continue on 13 March.

Hrant Dink was frightened of Kücük 

 After Hrant Dink was killed on 19 January 2007, lawyer Erdal Dogan told several newspapers that the journalist had said before, “When Veli Kücük started watching the trial, that’s when I started to get frightened.” Kücük filed a complaint against Dogan, demanding compensation of 10,000 YTL, arguing that Dogan had portrayed him as a murderer. The trial continues.

Veli Kücük’s name is also mentioned in the Susurluk scandal, which rocked Turkey in 1996. A car crash showed connections between the police, an MP, the military and ultra-nationalists. Ever since, people in Turey speak of a “deep state”, i.e. illegal forces working behind the front of an illusionary democracy.

Harrassment at Agos trial 

When Agos journalists Hrant Dink and Aydin Engin were on trial for “attempting to influence the judiciary”, Kerincsiz, Kücük and Erenerol were present at the trial. The bigger group which they were part of was frequently warned during the hearing. In front of the court, two people were beaten by the nationalist group which attacked verbally and physically.

Kerincsiz was the defense lawyer for Muzaffer Tekin and Ergün Poyraz, both also in prison for suspicion of being members of the Ergenekon gang. Kerincsiz has argued that his profession means that he cannot have connections to the organisation.

Writers targeted 

However, Turkey and the world know Kerincsiz from writer Orhan Pamuk’s trial. Pamuk was threatened and insulted in the corridors of the court building and eggs were thrown at him. Later, writer Elif Shafak and Hrant Dink had to experience similar harrassment.

Kerincsiz and his associate lawyers also sued those writers who criticised their attempts to stop the Ottoman Armenian conference in September 2005. In the case against Hrant Dink, Aydin Engin, Serkis Seropyan and Arat Dink from the Agos newspaper there was again a very tense atmosphere.

Akkus a "model student" 

Recep Akkus, who has been seen at the same events as Kerincsiz, is the person behind criminal complaints against Taner Akcam, a historian and writer for Agos newspaper, Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan of Agos newspaper, Karekin II, the head of the Armenian church, as well as Joost Lagendijk, the co-chair of the EU Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. (EÖ/TK/AG)