The Aug. 5 verdicts in the Ergenekon case proved once again that Turkish society still has a long way to go before it develops a culture of democracy and rule of law.
According to the prosecution, the Ergenekon network was the very essence of Turkey’s “deep state” — carrying out assassinations and false flag operations in order to overthrow democratically elected governments. Prosecutors contended that Ergenekon operatives even plotted a coup against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from 2004 through 2007. Dozens of nationalist officers, policemen, academics and journalists were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.