Justice minister: "We could build a bigger venue for the Ergenekon trial"

A new venue could be built to relieve overcrowding at the Ergenekon trial, said Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin yesterday. "Under normal conditions, this case would be heard in the largest hearing room in Istanbul's Besiktas district," he told reporters about the trial, which began in Silivri on Monday. "But this room can accommodate only 100 people. So the panel of judges asked us whether they could use the hearing room in Silivri, and we said this was possible." Saying that there is no bigger venue in Istanbul, Sahin said a gymnasium could be specially built in around two months to hold the trial.