Retired admirals face prison sentence over ‘Montreux declaration’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has completed the investigation into the declaration of 103 retired admirals on Montreux Convention, the international treaty regulating the status of Turkey's Straits.

According to the statement released by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the investigation, 103 suspects have been indicted by the office on charge of "making an agreement to commit a crime against the security of the state and constitutional order."

They face 3 to 12 years in prison on the offense charged.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has also stated that "the digital materials of some suspects, against whom detention warrants had been issued, were examined and written correspondence under investigation has been added to the indictment."

What happened?

At midnight on April 3, some 103 retired admirals released a declaration concerning the Montreux Convention, the international treaty regulating the status of Turkey's Straits. "The opening of the Montreux Convention to debate as part of Canal İstanbul and the authority of the annulment of international treaties is met with concern," said the joint declaration.

The declaration also mentioned leaked photos showing a rear admiral in Islamic clothes in a home together with the members of who are said to be members of a pro-government religious cult.

Prosecutors in Ankara opened an investigation into the declaration one day later and 10 retired officers were detained on April 5.

On April 5, Ergun Mengi, Atilla Kezek, Alaettin Sevim, Ramazan Cem Gürdeniz, Nadir Hakan Eraydın, Bülent Olcay, Kadir Sağdıç, Türker Ertürk, Turgay Erdağ and Ali Sadi Ünsal were taken into custody.

Engin Baykal, Cemil Şükrü Bozoğlu, Mustafa Özbey and Atilla Kıyat were also summoned to depose at the security directorate.

They were released on probation on April 12.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office then summoned 6 retired admirals and 1 retired general to give their statements as part of the investigation launched into the declaration on Montreux Convention.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), written notifications were sent to 6 retired admirals and 1 retired general in İstanbul, Muğla, Antalya and Ankara provinces as part of the investigation.

The houses of the retired admirals and the retired general were searched and their digital materials were seized in mid-April.

In late May 2021, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office summoned 84 people to give their statements as part of the ensuing investigation.

According to the statement of the Prosecutor's Office, within the framework of the examination carried out on the digital materials seized during the previous searches, the statements of the suspects and the evidence obtained by analyzing Historical Traffic Search (HTS) records, 84 suspects were summoned to depose on charge of "making an agreement to commit a crime against the security of the state and constitutional order." (EMK/SD)