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Controversial colonels removed from posts
The dailies reported on Monday that it was not immediately clear whether the colonels had been appointed to different posts or were suspended from active duty. The colonels are listed as Kayseri Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion Commander Col. Cemal Temizöz, Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion Commander Col. Ali Tapan, Balıkesir Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion Commander Col. Murat Özçelik, Konya Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion Commander Col. Hüseyin Çoban and Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion Commander Col. Recep Gençoğlu.Thirty-five other colonels were also appointed to new positions.
The Gendarmerie General Command was at the center of harsh criticism for continuing to allow the colonels embroiled in controversy to remain at their posts. Col. Temizöz was arrested last year and is charged with ordering the execution of 20 people through JİTEM, a clandestine gendarmerie group, during his time as a company commander in Cizre. His legal fees are being paid by the gendarmerie under Article 15 of the Counterterrorism Law.
The Temizöz trial is the culmination of an investigation that began when wells excavated in the town of Silopi were found to contain human remains believed to be the bones of individuals who were victims of JİTEM. The colonel is accused of murder, forming an organization to commit crimes and inciting murder. The prosecution demands nine consecutive life sentences for Temizöz.
Col. Tapan is listed as one of the key suspects in the investigation into a subversive military coup plot against the government and religious segments of society prepared by another serving colonel, Dursun Çiçek. Tapan was interrogated by civilian prosecutors in December of last year. He stands accused of aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.
Col. Gençoğlu was arrested in early February on charges of being behind a plot to undermine the government. The colonel allegedly had connections to a shady network in Erzincan, where he was working before he was appointed to Eskişehir. The Erzurum Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into an alleged criminal network connected to Ergenekon, a clandestine organization charged with plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government, after a large amount of munitions, including hand grenades, were found on Oct. 27, 2009, in the Erzincan reservoir. Col. Gençoğlu was detained and arrested the same day on suspicion of links to the munitions discovered.
Col. Özçelik was arrested and sent to prison on Feb. 28 as part of a major raid on the suspected contributors to a military plot against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, titled the Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan. His lawyers appealed his arrest last week, but the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court rejected the appeal.
Col. Çoban was released from prison pending trial on March 31. He is accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization and working to destroy Parliament and the government. The colonel is believed to have ties to the Sledgehammer plan.
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