The Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court released Rear Admiral Turgay Erdağ and Colonel Ali Türkşen from detention in the scope of the "Sledgehammer coup plan" upon the appeals of their lawyers.

The Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court on Duty had previously declined the application for their release. Erdağ and Türkşen were detained under allegations of "the attempt to violently silence and hinder the organs running the government and the Turkish Republic".

The "Sledgehammer" ('Balyoz') coup plan was plotted by a group of people within the armed forces in 2002/03. It was aimed at creating disorder in the country by bombings of mosques, crashing a Turkish jet plane and warplanes flying over the parliament, which should eventually lead to martial law and a coup.

Release of 33 defendants rejected

The court received the applications for the release 18 active and 15 retired military officers. For 20 of them the court decided by majority vote to extend their detention, drawing attention to "the current circumstantial evidence, the nature and quality of crime they allegedly committed, index crimes according to article 100/3 of the Criminal Procedural Code (CMK), facts showing severe suspicion related to the crimes committed and the gathering of evidence not having been completed yet". The decision to keep the remaining 13 people in detention was taken unanimously.

The following military officers are among the ones whose appeal was rejected: former 1^st Army Command retired General Çetin Doğan, retired Lieutenant General Engin Alan, retired Vice Admiral Feyyaz Öğütçü, Rear Admiral Cem Aziz Çakmak, Senior Rear Admiral Ramazan Cem Gürdeniz, retired military officers Bülent Tunçay, Suha Tanyeli, Ali Deniz Kutluk, Ali İhsan Çuhadaroğlu, Mehmet Kaya Varol, Özer Karabulut, Ümit Özcan, Suat Aytın, Metin Yavuz Yalçın and İzzet Ocak.

Three active military officers had previously been taken into custody and released afterwards on 28 February. They were brought to the Beşiktaş (Istanbul) Courthouse again and taken to prison on 10 March.

A "Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan" report was commissioned by the Army Command Military Prosecutor's Office. According to the report, the plan was prepared in opposition to the directive of the Command and had been hidden from the Land Forces Command (KKK). The report was published on 2 March. (EÖ/VK)