“My son has been in jail for seven months. I call on authorities to either file charges against my son and try him or to release him. Justice delayed is justice denied,” said Mesut Balta in a press conference he called on Monday in Ankara.Noncommissioned officers Ali Balta, Orhan Güleç and İsmail Dağ were detained in early March upon an order from Kayseri Garrison Commander Maj. Gen. Rıdvan Ulugüler and were interrogated by Lt. Col. Gürol Doğan for 10 days following their detention. The detentions became public when the soldiers’ families, after failing to receive any correspondence from the soldiers, turned to the Kayseri Court of First Instance to locate the soldiers. The court contacted the Kayseri Military Prosecutor’s Office, and military prosecutor Col. Ahmet Zeki Üçok announced that the soldiers had been detained for allegedly leaking highly confidential documents. The soldiers’ lawyers said the soldiers had been subjected to torture and that the interrogator, Doğan, drugged them and used hypnosis and psychological pressure to extract statements from them.
“I do not believe that my son committed a crime. If he did, he will face the consequence. But for that to happen, charges should be filed against him. However, my son is currently a victim of extrajudicial punishment,” Balta noted.
According to the noncommissioned officer’s father, Balta was denied the right to defend himself. He also claimed that his son was drugged and coerced into giving a statement.
“My whole family has suffered both financially and emotionally. I sent several petitions to the Air Forces Command, the General Staff and the Defense Ministry, but none have received a reply. I call on everyone to help me stop the extrajudicial punishment of my son,” Balta’s father added.
