Anonymous Witness in Ergenekon Case Found Dead in Home

What is the Ergenekon case?

An investigation was launched into the "Ergenekon Terrorist Organization" in 2007 after 27 hand grenades were found during a police raid in a makeshift home in İstanbul.

The first of the 19 indictments of the case was accepted in July 2008. The prosecutors alleged that "Ergenekon" attempted to "overthrow the government by force" and "provoke people into an armed insurgency against the government."

There were 275 defendants in the case, including active and retired military officers, civil society figures, politicians, and journalists.

The armed attack on judges at the Council of State and the bomb attack on Cumhuriyet newspaper in 2006 were attributed to the "Ergenekon." 

İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court announced its verdict in June 2013, sentencing 17 defendants, including former Chief of the General Staff İlker Başbuğ, to life imprisonment or aggravated life imprisonment.

In April 2016, the Court of Cassation annulled the verdict on grounds of non-compliance with both procedural and substantive law.

It considered "not being able to submit concrete evidence to prove the Ergenekon Organization's existence", a reason to annul the decision on substantive grounds.

In July 2019, İstanbul 4th Heavy Penal Court, which heard the 235-defendants case again, ruled that an illegal organization could not be found and all defendants facing charges related to the "terrorist organization" shall be acquitted.