As for the option described as being “more perilous,” it is said, “There is no such thing.” After all, everybody was expecting this. It is also important that the statement is not skipped over but explained in a detailed way. It is understood that the doubts of the public are considered and a response to them was attempted.
The other side of the medal is left a little ambiguous. I mean the parts about the authenticity of the document and signatures of Col. Dursun Çiçek are more like an explanation of a “lack of evidence.” Examinations about the document and the reports are given in a detailed way. Yet, on the grounds that the document is a photocopy and there is no further evidence, it is understood that the decision of “no need for prosecution” was made.
The notation indicating that the document is a photocopy in addition to the opinion of institutions that conducted the criminal examination that the signatures belong to Çiçek has had an impact on the result. This situation forms the Achilles heel of the statement and decision. Everybody agrees that the signatures are similar. Besides, the following expression in the report of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) National Institute of Electronic and Encryption Research (UEKAE) is interesting: “An unusual situation concerning elements that are not present in the authentic document that are added to the document later is not found.”
The conclusion drawn by the military prosecution on the basis of the photocopy notation is largely open to questioning: “It is not seen as necessary to further examine the fact that the signatures of the suspect that signed in the presence of the military prosecutor do not match up with his signatures on various documents; considering this will not affect the result of the investigation.” If two different signatures remain as an unanswered question in public consciousness, it turns into a doubt that could spread to the entire decision. It has a lot of meanings, from prevarication to misleading authorities. And, naturally, it bears legal consequences. At this point, it is the duty of judicial prosecutors and the decision does not become a lack of grounds for legal action, but a lack of jurisdiction. The document was seized in the office of an Ergenekon suspect's lawyer. It is known that the Ergenekon terrorist gang forges fake documents and tries to present themselves as a legitimate part of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The document shows that their search on the issue continues.
To sum up, the Military Prosecutor's Office says the following: As an institution, the TSK is out of this issue. The signature on the document may belong to Col. Çiçek; however, this is not certain because the document is a photocopy. It is true that the signature on the record of statement is different, but further examination is not needed.
