US embassy cable - 03ANKARA855

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000855 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2008 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU 
SUBJECT: GERMAN DIPLOMATS OPTIMISTIC, BUT STILL CONCERNED 
ABOUT CASE AGAINST DEMOCRACY FOUNDATIONS 
 
 
REF: 02 ANKARA 7680 
 
 
Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 b and d. 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: PM Gul told German FM Fischer be believes 
five German foundations facing charges in Turkey will be 
acquitted.  German diplomats agree the judge appears to be 
preparing to acquit, but consider the indictment a form of 
harassment and warn a conviction could weaken German support 
for Turkey's EU bid.  End Summary. 
 
 
2. (C) During a January 23 meeting in Istanbul, German FM 
Fischer told PM Gul he respected the independence of the 
Turkish judiciary, but hoped the case against the five German 
foundations (reftel) would quickly end in acquittal.  Fischer 
asked the GOT to provide political support to the foundations 
-- the Friedrich Ebert, Konrad Adenauer, Heinrich Boll, and 
Friedrich Naumann foundations, as well as the Orient 
Institute.  Gul agreed the charges against the foundations 
are "ridiculous."  He predicted the case will end in 
acquittal, but said he cannot interfere in the judicial 
process. 
 
 
3. (C) The second hearing of the case, held January 30, 
featured defense testimony from a former employee of the 
Normandy mining company.  He accused the company of paying 
for the publication of a book claiming the foundations 
organized a campaign to prevent Normandy from mining for gold 
near Bergama in Turkey's Aegean region.  The book constitutes 
the bulk of the evidence for the prosecution.  Two German 
diplomats told poloff prosecutors did not cross examine the 
witness, giving the impression they believe they have a weak 
case.  They said the judge called on the prosecution to 
conclude its case, at which point prosecuting attorneys asked 
for another hearing to prepare.  According to the diplomats, 
attorneys for the foundations believe the judge wants to rule 
for acquittal soon, and may do so at the next hearing 
February 27. 
 
 
4. (C) Fugen Ugur, of the Heinrich Boll Foundation, noted in 
a meeting with poloffs that judges in Turkey cannot dismiss 
an indictment without holding at least one hearing.  She said 
the judge might have ruled for acquittal at the first 
hearing, on December 26, if not for the December 18 murder of 
Necip Hablemitoglu, the conspiracy theory-obsessed author of 
the book accusing the foundations. Ugur opined that, given 
the circumstances, the judge may have feared that closing the 
case after one hearing would have raised suspicions of a 
coverup. 
 
 
5. (C) Despite the positive signals, the German diplomats 
said their Government is highly concerned about what it 
considers harassment of the foundations.  They said the court 
is hounding the foundations with constant requests for 
documents, including birth certificates of foundation staff. 
The official line of the German Government is that the case 
has no bearing on Turkey's EU candidacy; however, one of the 
diplomats said, a conviction would likely cause Germany to 
seek to delay accession talks. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PEARSON