The prosecutor in the retrial of the clandestine Ergenekon network, which was once considered the “deep state” in Turkey, concluded on Friday that there was no evidence of an Ergenekon armed terrorist organization.
The case is being retried after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a previous verdict for 275 suspects. In the retrial, the prosecutor demanded sentences for only 26 defendants. The gunman in an attack on the Council of State in 2006 that resulted in the killing of a judge will be retried and an aggravated life sentence requested upon the prosecutor’s final assessment.
The next hearing will be held on Dec. 27.
Retrials began in June 2017 in the case of the clandestine Ergenekon organization after the Supreme Court of Appeals in April 2016 overturned an earlier verdict by a local court that handed down lengthy prison sentences to 275 defendants, including many former military force commanders who were accused of plotting to topple the government.