The Turkish Supreme Court began the appeals process for the notorious Ergenekon case Oct. 6. Ilker Basbug, Turkey’s former chief of staff, appeared before the court with a three-hour defense. In August 2013, Basbug was convicted for plotting a military coup against the government and for establishing and leading a clandestine organization called Ergenekon. Basbug was sentenced to life in prison along with dozens of other high-ranking and junior soldiers, journalists and academics.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was labeled as the center of the Ergenekon deep-state organization. Ergenekon was one of 11 notorious court cases where hundreds of TSK members were the main suspects, charged with treason, military espionage, conspiracy to overthrow the government and terrorism. Since late 2013, these court decisions have been reversed and hundreds of convicted officers, journalists and academics were released.
