Prosecutors Charge 64 Life Sentence

* In the photo (left to right): Retired generals İlker Başbuğ, Hasan Iğsız, Nusret Taşdeler.

Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel, one of the prosecutors investigating the 2007 military plot allegations to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government, said they summed up their case - a 2,271 page long document that claimed the existence of"Ergenekon terrorist group", an alleged underground network of secular arch-nationalists.

Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court held its 281th hearing on Ergenekon case yesterday in Silivri where prosecutor Pekgüzel summerizing their case on 275 defendants in 5 hours.

Prosectors charged life sentence for 64 suspects for plotting to overthrow AKP government in 2007. The defendants include academics, politicians and journalists, as well as former army officers.

The list of defendants charged with life sentence was as follows: İlker Başbuğ (ex-military chief), Doğu Perinçek (Labor Party Chair), Tuncay Özkan (journalist), Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal (deputy), Hasan Iğsız, Hıfzı Çubuklu, Hurşit Tolon, İsmail Hakkı Pekin, Dursun Çiçek, Hasan Atilla, Uğur, Sedat Özüer and Şener Eruygur (retired army officers), Erol Manisalı, Fatih Hilmioğlu, Kemal Gürüz and Kemal Alemdaroğlu (academicians), Kemal Kerinçsiz (lawyer), Levent Ersöz and Ferit Ilsever.

Prosecutors charged retired general Veli Küçük with ousting the government,  murder order and attempted murder of 4 individuals, seeking life sentence for different six cases.

Prosecutors charged 96 defendants including Sedat Peker, Semih Tufan Gülaltay, Mehmet Bora Perinçek, Ali Yasak, Emin Şirin, Güler Kömürcü Öztürk and Tanju Güvendiren with being an "Ergenekon terrorist organization member", seeking life sentence from 7.5 to 15 years.

Prosecutors also demanded the case of 5 fugitive suspects - including ex-mayorBedrettin Dalan ve deputy Turan Çömez - to be held seperately. They also dropped charges for journalist İlhan Selçuk, who died in 2010.

The court denied prosecutors' arrest warrant for 20 suspects and rescheduled the trial to April 8. (AS/BM)