Levent Ersöz
| Levent Ersöz | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 April 1954[1] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Turkey |
| Service/branch | Turkish Army |
| Rank | General |
Levent Ersöz (born 19 April 1954) is a former Turkish general in the Turkish Gendarmerie, who was head of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence department.[2] He was considered a key defendant in the Ergenekon trials, and on 5 August 2013 was sentenced to 22 years and six months.[3][4] A trial charging Ersöz with the death of Turkish President Turgut Özal in 1993 began in September 2013.[5]
Prosecutors have accused Ersöz of being behind the 2001 assassination of Diyarbakır Police Chief Gaffar Okkan and a 2006 attack on Faruk Çelik,[6] and of having had a role in the 1993 death of President Turgut Özal.[7] The prosecution has shown a video of Ersöz talking to Bedrettin Dalan in 2004, saying "You are number three. Why don't you go out and talk like you're number one."[8] Police searching Ersöz' home had found nearly 2500 recordings of conversations.[8] A witness to the Ergenekon trials testified that Ersöz had had frequent contact with PKK commander Cemil Bayık.[9]
Prosecutors have charged a hitman with a December 2009 attempt on Ersöz' life, describing it as an attempt to silence Ersöz.[10] Shots were fired into the ceiling during a confrontation between the would-be assassin and gendarmes guarding Ersöz' room.[11]
A suspect in the Ergenekon trials told prosecutors that Ersöz was his instructor in TUSHAD.[12]
References
- ↑ Ergenekon indictments
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 15 January 2009, Fugitive former general Ersöz escapes police raid
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 5 August 2013, Long sentences for Ergenekon suspects, life for ex-army chief
- ↑ Hurriyet Daily News, 5 August 2013, 17 sentenced to life in Turkey's Ergenekon coup plot trial, including ex-military chief
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 11 September 2013, Trial into suspicious death of late president Özal begins
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 22 August 2009, Ergenekon suspect Levent Ersöz behind Okkan, Çelik attacks
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 16 April 2013, Court accepts indictment seeking life for Ersöz over Özal's death
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Today's Zaman, 1 May 2009, Dalan was Ergenekon’s number three, says prosecution
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 22 August 2009, Ersöz and PKK's Bayık kept in touch
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 3 November 2010, Ergenekon attempted to kill Levent Ersöz to silence him
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 14 January 2010, Probe into Ersöz assassination attempt deepens
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 18 October 2012, Zirve massacre suspect: Ergenekon's armed wing still active
