A prosecutor who was formerly assigned to the İliç district of Erzincan has announced his willingness to testify as a witness in the case against Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, who is accused of implementing a military plot targeting individuals in religious groups.

Former İliç prosecutor Bayram Bozkurt, who is currently serving at the Malazgirt Prosecutor's Office, said he is ready to testify to the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court, which on Monday accepted an indictment against Cihaner and Gen. Saldıray Berk, who is currently at the helm of the 3rd Army Command.The indictment accuses Cihaner of implementing part of the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism -- an alleged military plot to undermine the government and a major social religious movement -- in his own region.Bozkurt said he could testify to support the statement of another witness -- identified in the indictment only by the code name Munzur for security reasons -- who says Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Department Commander Sgt. Şenol Bozkurt attempted to frame Bayram Bozkurt for crimes he had not committed. Munzur confessed in his statement that he worked with Şenol Bozkurt to frame prosecutor Bozkurt. The confidential witness said he became close friends with Sgt. Bozkurt shortly after meeting him. “Şenol [Bozkurt] asked me if I could introduce him to the prosecutor. I did set a date, and they sat down to play okey [a Turkish tile game similar to Rummy]. This is how they met. A short while later, Şenol asked me to call the prosecutor and invite him to dinner. When the prosecutor came in, he saw that the commander was sitting together with some women. Then the prosecutor asked me who the women were. I told him the commander brought them to meet him. He was irritated by the situation and left,” Munzur testified.Prosecutor Bozkurt said Sgt. Bozkurt plotted against him to smear his name. The prosecutor said Sgt. Bozkurt opened a bank account under the name of his brother, whose name is also Bayram Bozkurt. “After an investigation was launched into me, they transferred nearly $350,000 in one-and-a-half months to ‘Bayram Bozkurt.' That was one of the things the Justice Ministry inspectors asked me about. Their investigation revealed that they had used this account to smear my name,” the prosecutor claimed.Other suspects named in the indictment include Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Col. Ali Tapan, Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Col. Recep Gençoğlu, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Department Director Nedim Ersan, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Intelligence Department Deputy Director Esin Ergut, Yaylabaşı Post Commander NCO Murat Yıldız, noncommissioned officer Orhan Esinger, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Erzincan Branch Director Şinasi Demir, MİT members Sadri Barkın İnce and Kıvılcım Üstel, 3rd Army Intelligence Department planning and training officer Ahmet Saraçlar and Erzincan hunting goods store owner Yaşar Baş. The suspects are accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization. 04 March 2010, ThursdayMUSTAFA YÜKSEL