The punishments handed down by the special Turkish tribunal for many of the 275 defendants in the Ergenekon case — the coup plot to overthrow the elected government — have sparked worldwide interest. The trial is seen as a significant and, at the same time, controversial milestone in Turkish history. Columnists and commentators in the Turkish media have analyzed the sentences and their implications from a variety of angles.

It seems that there is little dispute over the necessity of the trial, which was an integral part of the process of democratization and separation between the military establishment and the political system — a process that Turkey had desperately needed and hoped for. The European Union has even set such a process of change as one of the preconditions for the acceptance of Turkey into the Union. However, as the spectrum of defendants and range of charges was expanding, and above all, when the court passed the draconian sentences — several cumulative life sentences and dozens of years of imprisonment — the trial has become another symptom of the malady [besetting Turkey] rather than serving as the sought-after therapy.

Al-Monitor contributor Semih Idiz described how the Ergenekon trial, which had been primarily meant as yet another measure on Turkey’s right path away from its past, eventually turned into a stumbling block on that same path.

The Ergenekon affair is considered by many to be a warning sign on the path Turkey has been following toward becoming a state run in keeping with European standards. The general feeling is that, notwithstanding the reshuffle of its leadership, Turkey has not really set out on a new way. The situation is aptly summed up in the title given to Nuray Mert’s opinion column [Aug. 12] in the Turkish daily Hurriyet: “The ‘deep state’ is dead! Long live the new deep state!”