Çağaptay Distorts Facts Over Ergenekon Trial in Newsweek Article
An article that appeared in Newsweek magazine, penned by Soner Çağaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was claimed to have been full of errors and misinformation. In a piece titled "Behind Turkey's Witch Hunt: The Ergenekon case exposes the power of a shadowy Islamic brotherhood that controls the Turkish police," many allegations raised by Çağaptay proved to be false or misleading.
Çağaptay strives to diminish the importance of the ongoing Ergenekon trial ― a case in which prosecutors allege a clandestine criminal network plotted to create chaos in the country through high-profile killings, thereby inviting a military coup to overthrow the government. The investigation has so far exposed an abundance of guns and ammunition stored in hideouts, along with assassination plots against leading personalities, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk.
Claiming that all those who were arrested and charged are opponents of the current Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, Çağaptay argues that the government is on a witch hunt similar to that of the Joseph McCarthy-era trials in the US. He fails to note that those who have been charged with crimes during the Ergenekon investigation are naturally the "opponents" of the current government. After all, they are all charged with the crime of seeking to overthrow that government.
Çağaptay falsely states in his article that the Ergenekon case is against liberals in Turkey. In fact, the very targets of the Ergenekon ultranationalist plotters were liberals themselves, as was evident in the case of assassination plans targeting Pamuk. Some in the case are charged with being responsible for carrying out kidnappings and assassinations of liberal Kurdish intellectuals in southeastern Turkey. The sheer support of the Ergenekon trial by liberal columnists and writers in Turkey shows the case has their full backing.
The author also describes the Gülen movement as a tarikat, a definition that was rejected by Fethullah Gülen, a respected Muslim scholar, himself as well as in a court of law. Çağaptay said: "The tarikat gained political power in Turkey in the 1990s through its support of various political parties. In return, it gained appointments to key positions in the police and Education Ministry." An investigation into allegations that the Gülen community was organizing within the Turkish police was terminated without further review in 1992 by the Ankara State Security Court's (DGM) Chief Prosecutor's Office.
It should also be noted that last year the 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals unanimously voted to clear Gülen of all accusations against him on the grounds that "there was no certain and credible evidence showing without a reasonable doubt" that Gülen was guilty. The ruling was appealed, but the appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeals, the statement said, noting that the acquittal ruling was confirmed beyond doubt as every legal step had been exhausted.
Fact-checking Çağaptay's allegations
1. FALSE
Police investigated liberals.
1. TRUE
Police investigated ultranationalists who plotted to kill leading liberals including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.
2. FALSE
The Turkish courts filed a case against Gülen.
2. TRUE
Yes, the case was filed but later dismissed. The 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals unanimously voted to clear Gülen of all accusations against him on the grounds that "there was no certain and credible evidence showing without a reasonable doubt" that Gülen was guilty.
3. FALSE
Türkan Saylan, the late chairman of the Support for Modern Life Association (ÇYDD), was interrogated by the police.
3. TRUE
She was never arrested and never questioned by the police
4. FALSE
Police files, testimonies and details from the private lives of those arrested were leaked to Gülen tarikat–owned media.
4. TRUE
As a result of investigative journalism, many media outlets published information regarding the case. The diary of Mustafa Balbay, an ultranationalist columnist who allegedly plotted with military officers to topple the government, was published by liberal newspapers belonging to the Doğan Media Group.
5. FALSE
Police listened in on private conversations.
5. TRUE
Not exactly. Police can only listen in to phone conversations after obtaining approval from the prosecutor's office that got the approval from the court in the first place.
6. FALSE
The Gülen movement is a tarikat (Islamic order).
6. TRUE
No such thing. Turkish courts had dismissed “tarikat” allegations and cleared Mr. Gülen of being a leader of such an order.
7. FALSE
Ergenekon is a tool for the AK Party to curb freedoms.
7. TRUE
Ergenekon is the first-ever civil trial of coup plotters in Turkey.
8. FALSE
Although it is in accession talks with the European Union, Turkey is devolving into a similar state of fear.
8. TRUE
EU officials have repeatedly lent its support to the Ergenekon case and asked for thorough investigation into any criminal activity.
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