A case that became a witch hunt
Turkey suffered three military coups and a further military intervention against an Islamist-led coalition in 1997. After the AKP came to power in 2002, the conflict between the government and secular institutions took many forms. One of them was the set of prosecutions known as the Ergenekon trials.
Ergenekon was described as a secularist, ultra-nationalist criminal network linked to Turkey’s “deep state” and the legacy of Operation Gladio. There were real connections worth investigating, but the case expanded until people with unrelated secular agendas were drawn into it.
Nine million pages and a justice system under strain
The case involved four indictments and a reported archive of roughly five terabytes—around nine million pages. Approximately 60,000 telephone numbers were tapped, 1,360 people were called to testify, and thousands of suspects were arrested, including journalists, politicians and senior military figures.
Some defendants were elected as members of parliament but never reached parliament. Secret witnesses included people who were themselves accused. Fifteen cases were merged, producing a sprawling file that connected assassinations, bombings, armed organizations and an alleged coup plan under one enormous judicial roof.
The media spectacle
The investigation repeatedly produced headlines announcing that another Ergenekon secret had been decoded. Weapons discovered in unrelated settings could be folded into the story before a clear relationship to the alleged organization was established.
Former chief of staff İlker Başbuğ was accused of leading the organization and sentenced to life imprisonment. Journalists were also arrested for reporting on the case, deepening international concern over press freedom in Turkey.
Verdicts, protests and the unresolved deep state
Verdicts announced on 5 August 2013 gave life sentences to senior officers, journalists and politicians. Outside the Silivri courthouse, protests met heavy police intervention amid extensive nationwide preparations and arrests ahead of the hearing.
From the perspective of people harmed by deep-state activity, the outcome was a travesty: figures associated with violent nationalist networks were often acquitted while unrelated journalists and political opponents were prosecuted. The investigation did not resolve Turkey’s deep state; it demonstrated how the language of confronting it could be turned into another instrument of power.