A general staff officer who leaked a top secret document related to elements of a criminal network in the Turkish Air Forces has been detained, according to the Akşam daily.
The daily wrote yesterday in its top story that the officer has been detained in a military investigation into the leaking of a top secret document that was found during the investigation into Ergenekon, a criminal network suspected of having plotted to topple the government. The document was prepared three years ago by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) for a select few top air forces officers, the daily said.
Following the release of the indictment over the Ergenekon investigation, military prosecutors went to the chief prosecutor of the investigation, Zekeriya Öz, to inquire about the document in question. As a result, around 20 officers were questioned by the military prosecutor, Akşam had written on July 18. Recently the general staff officer was detained as part of the investigation, according to the daily's top story yesterday. He has been accused of obtaining and leaking a secret state document. The document, which was found in a raid on the main office of the Workers' Party (İP), reveals the existence of a criminal network within the air forces. The daily suggested that the detention could be linked to the Ergenekon network. Akşam said the military prosecutor running the investigation was Ahmet Zeki Üçok. The paper wrote that Öz and Üçok had several telephone conversations following the military's probe into the case.
The daily said the two prosecutors were going to have a face-to-face meeting, but that this meeting has not materialized following Akşam's report on July 18. Instead, Öz sent the military prosecutor documents related to general staff officers, according to Akşam.
The daily also claims that there were six general staff officers and military school students named in the MİT's report, which was sent to the Turkish General Staff and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The military opened the investigation into the officers on the orders of Air Forces Commander Gen. Aydoğan Babaoğlu, Akşam wrote.
Ergenekon is a criminal network with links to the bureaucracy, military, security forces and other agencies whose members stand accused of orchestrating various murders and attacks with the intention of creating chaos to trigger a coup d'état. Dozens of individuals, including retired army generals, businessmen and intellectuals, have been arrested so far on charges of membership in the group.
The investigation into Ergenekon began in 2007, when a house in İstanbul's Ümraniye district that was being used as an arms depot was discovered by police.
Over the course of the investigation, the case was expanded to reveal elements of what in Turkey is called the deep state, finally proving the existence of the Ergenekon network. The indictment, made public on July 25, indicates that Ergenekon was behind a series of political assassinations over the past two decades. Eighty-six suspects, 47 of whom are currently under arrest, are accused of having suspicious links to the gang.
Source: Zaman
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