Ergenekon Defense Testimonies Commence

From TDZ:

Suspects in the trial against Ergenekon, a criminal network accused of plotting to overthrow the government, started giving defense testimonies in the 12th hearing of the trial, which began Oct. 3. The massive indictment against the suspects was read aloud first because of demands from some of the suspects' lawyers.

The first defendant, out of 86 in total, to testify was Oktay Yıldırım, a retired noncommissioned army officer with alleged links to hand grenades discovered inside a house used as an arms depot in İstanbul's Ümraniye district in summer 2007. The discovery set off the Ergenekon investigation.
According to the indictment, one hand grenade had the same serial number as those used in an attack at a café. Yıldırım is allegedly implicated in supplying these hand grenades.

. . . .

The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court is hearing the case in a makeshift courtroom inside Silivri Prison near İstanbul. Among the 86 suspects are retired Gen. Veli Küçük; lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, who is known for filing lawsuits against intellectuals over writings that question or criticize the state line on issues such as Armenian allegations of genocide; and retired Capt. Muzaffer Tekin. Forty-six of the suspects are in custody, and the rest have been released pending the outcome of the trial.

Meanwhile, the panel of judges issued warrants for those suspects who are not in custody and who did not attend yesterday's hearing without citing an excuse.

For full article, click here. For an analysis of the case's importance, click here.