Ergenekon convict deputy transferred to Ankara

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

CHP Deputy Mustafa Balbaywas sentenced to 34 years and eight months in prison over charges related to the Ergenekon coup trial. Hürriyet Photo

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Mustafa Balbay, who was sentenced to 34 years and eight months in prison over charges related to the Ergenekon coup trial, was transferred to Ankara’s Sincan Prison on Aug. 22.

Balbay had requested the transfer about 10 days ago, stating that this would make it easier for his family and children, who all live in the capital, to visit him.

The request was accepted by the related authorities and Balbay’s transfer from Silivri Prison to Sincan was finally completed today.

The Ergenekon coup plot trial, considered the most important legal battle in recent Turkish history, reached a verdict on Aug. 5, with Istanbul’s 13th High Criminal Court handing down severe punishments, including a life sentence for former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ.

The verdict, which decided the fate of 275 suspects at the end of a five-year process, resulted in hundreds of years of imprisonment in total and several aggravated life sentences for a series of the country’s high-ranking army members, journalists and academics.