Beginning of "Sledgehammer" Coup Plan Trial

Today (16 December) the first hearing of the trial about the so-called "Sledgehammer" ('Balyoz') coup plan will be heard in Istanbul. The coup plan initially made the headlines of Taraf newspaper in 2003, alleging that the 1^st Army Command had plotted to overthrow the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 196 defendants are indicted in the scope of the Sledgehammer Coup Plan Trial.

According to documents published on 20 January 2010, the "Sledgehammer Operation Plan" was prepared by the military junta under General Çetin Doğan, then 1^st Army Commander. Plans with the code names "Chador", "Beard", "Suga" and "Thunderstorm" were prepared with the aim to create the basis for a coup.

Furthermore, it was said that the Fatih and Beyazit Mosques, two major mosques in Istanbul, should be bombed in order to force the government to declare martial law. It was supposedly planned to make a Turkish jet plane crash over Greek air space with the aim of creating tension between the neighbouring countries. Additionally, it was apparently part of the plan to arrest democratic-minded journalists after the coup.

Retired General Doğan was accused of being the brain behind the plan but he rejected the allegations.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had announced that these plans were part of scenarios of Planning Seminars held on 5-7 March 2003.

A suitcase full of documents

On 30 January 2010, Taraf newspaper reporter Mehmet Baransu submitted a suitcase with 5,000 documents to the Beşiktaş (Istanbul) Courthouse.

On 22 February, prosecutors on duty Mehmet Berk, Bilal Bayraktar and Ali Haydar took 49 military officers into custody, among them retired generals and active army officers. For days later, on 26 February, another 18 military officers were taken into custody.

One released, one arrested

On 1 April, the judge on duty of the 12^th High Criminal Court, Oktay Kuban, released 19 suspects because of a "lack of strong suspicion". The prosecutor decided to re-arrest the suspects.

Judge on duty Yılmaz Alp from the Istanbul 9^th High Criminal Court released again 26 suspects claiming that their detention could not be continued only due to legal or hypothetical implications.

968-page indictment accepted

On 19 July, the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court accepted the indictment and opened a trial against 196 military officers.

The defendants stand accused of the "attempt to overthrow executive organs of the Turkish Republic by force and to hinder them from fulfilling their duty by force". The court decided to arrest 102 defendants on the grounds of "strong suspicion" on 23 July.

However, only retired Colonel Ahmet Şentürk was arrested. The other defendants appealed against the arrest decision. The Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court decided by majority vote to accept the appeals of the 101 defendants, even though the prosecutor had pleaded otherwise. Judge Metin Özçelik put an annotation to the decision. It was said that the arrest warrant could be lifted in case of no risk of flight.

Some defendants requested a recusation of the judge but their demand was rejected by the Istanbul 12^th High Criminal Court.

Judge changed two days prior to the start of trial

On Wednesday (15 December), one day prior to the beginning of the trial, it turned out that inspectors of the Ministry of Justice launched a disciplinary investigation on 25 August 2009 about Zafer Başkurt, Court President of the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court, and Erkan Canak, Court President of the 14^th High Criminal Court. Judge Ömer Diken was appointed to the case. (BT)