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Three retired generals behind bars in Sledgehammer probe
Retired generals Tuncay Çakan, Behzat Balta and Halil Kalkanlı, all detained on Monday as part of the investigation into the Sledgehammer (Balyoz) coup plot, which allegedly sought to undermine the government to prepare the groundwork for a military takeover, were arrested on charges of “attempting to overthrow the government of the Turkish Republic using force and violence” by the İstanbul 10th Criminal Court. Retired Col. Erdla Akyazan, who was also referred to court on Wednesday, was released pending trial.
Retired Gen. Çakan, who served at the İstanbul Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA), was detained in İstanbul. Çakan was the commander of GATA in 2007 when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s spouse, Emine Erdoğan, was denied entry to a GATA hospital due to her headscarf when visiting an ailing thespian.
The suspects were sent to the Metris Military Prison. Defense lawyers told reporters that they would appeal the ruling.
Retired Gen. Şükrü Sarıışık, a former secretary-general of the National Security Council (MGK), retired Gen. Nuri Ali Karababa and retired Col. Mümtaz Can, who were also among those detained on Monday, were arrested on Tuesday as part of the same probe.
Other detainees -- retired generals Mustafa Kemal Tutku, Oktay Faruk Memioğlu and Ünal Akbulut as well as retired Col. Sıtkı Özbek -- were previously released after their testimony to prosecutors conducting the probe into the Sledgehammer plot.
According to the Sledgehammer plot, made public by a newspaper in January, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had a systematic plan to create chaos in society by bombing mosques and attacking popular museums with Molotov cocktails. The attacks’ desired result was to increase pressure on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government for failing to provide security to its citizens.
The Sledgehammer plan was included in the third indictment prepared in the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine network charged with plotting to overthrow the government. The prosecutors are now questioning the 24 generals who attended the seminar. Dozens of retired and active duty military officers have been detained in the probe. Twenty-two of them were released last week in a controversial ruling, but the release ruling was rescinded on Sunday by a panel of judges from the İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court.
Fifteen of the 21 suspects for whom arrest warrants were issued by the court have so far been rearrested. The number of those arrested as part of the probe has increased to 27 with the recent arrests. There are still six who have yet to surrender. The number of Sledgehammer arrests will increase to 33 with these arrests. Retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, the former head of the 1st Army, is among a group that is waiting to be rearrested. He is undergoing treatment at GATA.
In the meantime, İstanbul Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı signaled yesterday that they would detain the 25 generals and admirals who were to be detained during Monday’s operations if necessary. The suspects were not detained since operations were suspended by İstanbul Chief Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin, who reassigned the prosecutors covering the Sledgehammer case.
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