Ergenekon trials

The Ergenekon trials are a series high-profile trials which have taken place in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Ergenekon, a supposed secularist clandestine organization, were accused of plotting against the Turkish government. The trials resulted in lengthy prison sentences for the majority of the accused.

Since Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 13 accepted the 2,455-page indictment against 86 defendants in the first case against alleged members of the supposed clandestine organization Ergenekon on 28 July 2008 a further 14 indictments were submitted up to February 2011. Until the fourth indictment the number of defendants had increased to 531 and more than 8,000 pages of indictments had been written. Most trials are held in Silivri Prison. At the beginning the courtroom could accommodate about 280 people. In June 2009, the prison's sport hall was converted for the term of the trial into a maxi courtroom with a capacity for 753 people.