“Combine The Cases For The JITEM And The Ergenekon”

Tahir Elçi, one of the joint lawyers of the case in Diyarbakır’s 3rd High Criminal Court where ten members of the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terror Unit (JİTEM) are on trial, demands that this case be combined with the Ergenekon file.

Elçi, with whom bianet met about the subject, said that he filed a complaint with the Office of the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor to have the above demand formalized.  

Elçi says, “I think Susurluk, Ergenekon and JİTEM are different parts of the same organization. Their goals and strategies overlap and their high-level cadres consist of the same people.”

The accused in Diyarbakır are on trial for various kidnappings, murders and bombings in the region that includes the provinces of Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman and Şırnak. Elçi is part of the case that is trying to bring to light the torture and murder of Hasan Caner of Şırnak, Hasan Utanç and Tahsin Sevim.

Elçi says these three people were taken by the order of Cem Ersever, one of the JİTEM commanders, and murdered following their torture.  

“Silopi’s commander Arif Doğan is arrested in the Ergenekon case”

Elçi points out to the fact that retired colonel Arif Doğan who was the commander of the army post in Silopi  when he was in active duty is on trial for the Ergenekon case.

According to the news article by Milliyet reporters Tolga Şardan and Türker Karapınar, Doğan already admitted that he was the one who set up JİTEM, worked for eight years under the command of the administration of the Extra Ordinary Conditions and then passed his duty on to Veli Küçük. 

“Veli Küçük and Levent Ersöz are in it too”

Elçi reminds that Veli Küçük, one of the figures in JİTEM’s administrative cadre, is on trial in connection with the Ergenekon investigation and Levent Ersöz, the Gendarmerie Regiment Commander of the Şırnak province at the time, is still not caught.

Elçi has pointed out to the relationship between these two people in both of his petitions.

Diyarbakır’s 3rd High Criminal Court will make its decision regarding Elçi’s demand on November 11.

The case is back in the civilian court

Ten people claimed to be JİTEM members are on trial in Diyarbakır: İbrahim Babat (who used the name Hacı Hasan in Syria), Adil Timurtaş, Zahir Karadeniz, Lokman Gündüz, Faysal Şanlı, Recep Tiril, Abdülkadir Aygan, Ali Ozansoy, Hüseyin Tilki and Hayrettin Toka.

When the military court had ruled no jurisdiction over the JİTEM case, it had gone to one of the special courts of the Constitutional Court, the Dispute Court, which sent the case to a civilian court on May 5. (TK/EÜ/TB)