ISTANBUL
An alleged conspiracy to topple Turkey’s government has been officially defined as an "armed terrorist organization" for the first time by a Turkish court.
The so-called ‘Ergenekon’ network has also been accused of operating as a "deep state" within the Turkish Armed Forces.
The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court on Thursday finished a 16,000-page decision on the long-running case which has seen hundreds of generals sentenced to prison on charges of plotting to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party government.
"In consequence of the trial, it was concluded that there is an ‘Ergenekon’ named organization in Turkey, it has the feature of 'armed terrorist organization' and this organization meant 'deep state'," the court’s decision read.
The Ergenekon investigation dates back to an incident in 2007 when a cache of explosives was found in the home of a former military officer; this was tied by state prosecutors to what they claimed was a much larger conspiracy. The probe led to the arrest of some 200 people, including senior military officers.
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