"Tuncay Özkan Tried to Arrange False Testimony Against Fethullah Gülen"
The recently accepted third indictment in the Ergenekon case has revealed that Tuncay Özkan, a defendant in the case, tried to pay a witness to falsely testify against Fethullah Gülen.
The claim is based on documents the police seized during a search of the home and offices of Özkan, who is currently in prison. Page 627 of the indictment states that Özkan sent an e-mail to a person nicknamed Hayricanoz on Jan. 23, 2002 in which he said: "Mesut, we need to find new witnesses who'll testify against Fethullah. Our lawyer Hüseyin said the trial is proceeding against our interests and that Eyüp and Serhat may change sides any time now. This Serhat guy had a relative, a kid named Cihat. I plan to give him some money to testify against Fethullah. Our retired colonel, Cem, will talk to the boys and give the impression that this proposal is being made by the military. This is our only chance now. It may not be what you think, but we must urgently find new witnesses."
"I talked to them through Fevzi Türkeri Paşa and Kemal Yavuz Paşa. We will talk about this matter once again with [National Security Council] MGK Secretary-General Tuncer Kilinç," Özkan continued, confirming that the defamation campaign had been endorsed by the upper echelons of the organization.
The chief prosecutor of the now defunct State Security Court (DGM) brought a case against Gülen on Aug. 22, 2000. Gülen was acquitted of all charges by the 11th High Criminal Court in Ankara in 2006.
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