İlhan Cihaner

İlhan Cihaner (born 23 February 1968,[1] Kağızman), is a Turkish politician and a former prosecutor. He's a parliamentary deputy for the Republican People's Party (CHP) since 2011. He was the Chief Public Prosecutor of Erzincan from 2007; he resigned in 2011 in order to stand for election.[2][3] He is a suspect in the Ergenekon trials.[4][5][6] He is a columnist for the soL newspaper.

İlhan Cihaner MP
Member of the Grand National Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 June 2011
Constituency	Denizli (2011, June 2015)
Personal details
Born	(1968-02-23) February 23, 1968 Kağızman, Kars, Turkey
Nationality	Turkey
Political party	Republican People's Party (CHP)
Alma mater	Gazi University
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Prosecutor

Career

Cihaner, then a prosecutor in İdil (Şırnak Province), was the first prosecutor to point at the Turkish Gendarmerie's JİTEM, in an indictment of 1997. He held the defendants including civil servants, confessors and others responsible for killings, bombings and "disappearances". Defendant No. 1 was Ahmet Cem Ersever and defendant No. 2 was Arif Doğan.[7]

He was appointed Chief Public Prosecutor of Erzincan in 2007.[8] In this position he ordered an investigation of the İsmailağa religious community, after reports of the community offering unauthorised Koran courses and preventing girls from attending school. An initial police report found no illegal activity, but a follow-up by the Turkish Gendarmerie and National Intelligence Organization, ordered by Cihaner, did, turning up financial irregularities among other issues.[9] Following this report Cihaner obtained court orders for wire-tapping the community,[9] which continued from 2007 to 2009. The wiretapping included government ministers and the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[10][11] In February 2009 Cihaner used the local Gendarmerie to arrest nine people, and after interrogating them drew up a list of 235 suspects. The list included government ministers and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, and drew a personal call from Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek requesting the investigation be halted; Cihaner refused.[9] Some months later, Taraf published a plan entitled "Action Plan against Religious Radicalism", an alleged plan to discredit religious communities and the AKP government by planting weapons. A Justice Ministry investigation followed, and the İsmailağa case was transferred to another prosecutor, Osman Şanal, on the grounds that there were allegations that İsmailağa was a terrorist group. Cihaner resisted unsuccessfully, citing a wiretap showing a conversation between two İsmailağa members describing the transfer as "good news".[9]

Charges

Cihaner was arrested in February 2010 as part of the Ergenekon trials investigation, and charged with membership of a terrorist group.[9][12][13] He was freed in August 2010, allegedly as a result of a conspiracy by Supreme Court judges.[14][15][16] He was appointed a public prosecutor in Adana in November 2010.[17][18]

Cihaner was also accused of over-stepping his authority in the İsmailağa investigation, but the relevant trial was suspended due to parliamentary immunity acquired after he was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the Republican People's Party in the 2011 general election, representing Denizli.[19] Cihaner was one of a number of Ergenekon defendants nominated by the CHP in 2011.[20]

References

1. tbmm.gov.tr, İlhan Cihaner
2. Today's Zaman, 10 May 2013, CHP's Cihaner to be brought to court by force
3. Today's Zaman, 11 March 2011, Kaçmaz, Cihaner resign to run in elections
4. Today's Zaman, 12 March 2010, Indictment documents Cihaner's attempts to bypass court rulings
5. Today's Zaman, 25 March 2012, Appeals court refuses to send Cihaner case to relevant chamber
6. Today's Zaman, 2 March 2012, High court accepts indictment against Cihaner and Gen. Berk
7. Şık, Ahmet (2009-03-24). "Fırat'ın ötesi: ÖHD, ÖKK, JİTEM, Ergenekon…". Habervesaire (in Turkish). Retrieved 2010-05-22. 1997 yılında müdahil olduğum ve JİTEM görevlilerinin suçlandığı bir davada İdil Savcısı İlhan Cihaner’in fezlekesinde bunu adı konmuştur. Savcının ciddi saptamaları vardır. Savcı fezlekesinde kamu görevlileri, itirafçılar ve başka bazı kişilerin de içinde olduğu ve adam öldürme, bombalama, gözaltında kaybetme gibi suçları işleyen ülke genelinde örgütlü bir suç örgütü var diyor. Bu fezlekenin sanıklarının 1. sırasında yer alan isim Ahmet Cem Ersever’dir ki JİTEM’in kurucusu olduğunu herkes biliyor. Sonra 2. sıradaki sanık, şimdi Ergenekon soruşturmasının tutukluları arasında yer alan ve yine JİTEM’in kurucularından olan Arif Doğan’dır.
8. "İlhan Cihaner Kimdir?". haberler.com. 16 February 2010.
9. Ahmet Şık, Niyazi Dalyancı, habervesaire.com, 18 February 2010, Warfare between judiciary and government
10. Today's Zaman, 28 April 2013, Cihaner may tell commission about how he wiretapped PM
11. Today's Zaman, 8 April 2011, New book exposes Cihaner’s secret interrogation room
12. The New York Times, 20 February 2010, Arrest of Prosecutor in Turkey Exposes Tensions Between Secular and Religious Turks
13. Today's Zaman, 16 February 2010, Erzincan prosecutor Cihaner detained in Ergenekon probe
14. Today's Zaman, 18 June 2010, Cihaner set free after controversial court decision
15. Today's Zaman, 19 May 2010, Voice recording reveals plans to free Cihaner
16. Today's Zaman, 19 June 2010, Chronology of plan to set Cihaner free
17. Today's Zaman, 10 November 2010, Cihaner: Those guilty will look for a place to hide
18. Today's Zaman, 21 February 2011, Kaçmaz, Cihaner nominated for membership in high courts
19. Today's Zaman, 7 February 2013, Cihaner's wiretapping records discovered in mayor's computer
20. Today's Zaman, 22 April 2011, CHP Denizli candidates snub Cihaner

External links

• Cihaner's columns at soL
• Interview with Mr. İlhan Cihaner: “The Political Landscape, Problem of Justice, and Media Ethics in Turkey”, researchturkey.org, 21 May 2012
• https://twitter.com/ilhancihaner