Levent Ersöz
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| Born | (1954-04-19) April 19, 1954 (age 70)[1] |
| Allegiance | Turkey |
| Service/ | Turkish Army |
| Years of service | 1975-2005 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Unit | Gendarmerie |
Levent Ersöz (born 19 April 1954) is a former Turkey brigadier 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] He was released on 11 March 2014.[5] A trial charging Ersöz with the death of Turkish President Turgut Özal in 1993 began in September 2013.[6] Ersöz was found innocent and received an amnesty in March 2016.[7]
Prosecutors have accused Ersöz of being behind the 2001 assassination of Diyarbakır Police Chief Gaffar Okkan and a 2006 attack on Faruk Çelik,[8] and of having had a role in the 1993 death of President Turgut Özal.[9] 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."[10] Police searching Ersöz' home had found nearly 2500 recordings of conversations.[10]
Prosecutors have charged a hitman with a December 2009 attempt on Ersöz' life, describing it as an attempt to silence Ersöz.[11] Shots were fired into the ceiling during a confrontation between the would-be assassin and gendarmes guarding Ersöz' room.[12]
A suspect in the Ergenekon trials told prosecutors that Ersöz was his instructor in TUSHAD.[13]
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