Former High-Ranking Military Officer Doğan Arrested

The former 1^st Army Commander, Çetin Doğan, was arrested on the Bodrum airport in the province of Muğla (southern Aegean coast) on Sunday (25 July). An arrest warrant had been issued for Doğan in the scope of the trial concerned with the so-called "Sledgehammer" (Balyoz) coup plan. He had just arrived at the airport to fly to Istanbul when he was arrested.

The Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for 102 out of a total of 196 defendants tried in the Sledgehammer case. Doğan had announced to go to court on Monday (26 July). The trial will start on 16 December.

Retired Lieutenant General Engin Alan said he was going to appear at court the coming "Tuesday or Wednesday" (27/28 July). Retired Brigadier General Süha Tanyeri was going to go to court on Monday (26 July). Dursun Çiçek, another person subjected to an arrest warrant, is currently detained related to the "Action Plan against Reactionary Forces", a controversial document showing alleged plans to discredit the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the religious movement led by Fethullah Gülen.

Lawyer Atilla Hekimoğlu, legal advisor of former Air Force Commander İbrahim Fırtına, claimed that the "arrest" warrants were contrary to the law since the defendants were not fugitives.

Meeting of the General Staff

The court board included Davut Bedir, Ali Efendi Peksak and Murat Üründü. In the decision for the arrest warrants it was said,

"Due to the state of evidence in the file, it is understood that the provisions of judiciary control remain insufficient due to the character and nature of the imputed crime, because of the facts that account for a strong suspicion and because the imputed crime is a catalogue crime as defined by Article 100 of the Criminal Procedural Law. [...]".

According to the Milliyet daily, Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ held a meeting with the forces commanders in the General Staff Headquarters after the decision for the arrest warrants had been issued.

"Sledgehammer" coup plan

The Sledgehammer coup plan was initially brought to the headlines by the nationwide Taraf daily. Later on, the following allegations were also accepted by military experts:

In December 2002, The Sledgehammer Martial Law Command prepared the "Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan". Only a few units and a limited number of personnel were informed about the plan. Reason for the plan was the Sledgehammer Command's "duty to watch for and protect the Turkish Republic" as defined by the Domestic Services Law. Seminars regarding the plan were held by the Istanbul 1^st Army Command in 2003.

Following an investigative section, plans with the code names "Chador", "Beard", "Suga" and "Thunderstorm" were prepared with the 'purpose to create strategic conditions for a coup'. However, these plans were not included in the seminar of the 1^st Army Command. (EÜ/VK)