The Young Civilians protested the release of Col. Çiçek yesterday by the 14th Hig Criminal Court upon an appeal by his lawyer shortly after he had been arrested, claiming it was an incredibly short time to evaluate all the files in his case.
Gathering in front of the Beşiktaş Courthouse, the Young Civilians made a statement to the press about the release of Çiçek, whose signature was allegedly affixed to the plan and who was arrested for suspected links to a shadowy organization known as Ergenekon, which is accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
Group spokesman Hayri İnce said judge Faik Saban, who was temporarily appointed to the 14th High Criminal Court yesterday, deserved to be included in the Guinness Book of Records for being the “world's fastest reader.” “While we were proud of the successes of our sportsmen at the 16th Mediterranean Games, another success story came from the 14th High Criminal Court. Faik Saban, who was temporarily appointed to the 14th High Criminal Court, which is the court of ‘some' [referring to an earlier statement of a spouse of an Ergenekon suspect who called the court in question ‘one of ours'], deserves this nomination for reading hundreds of pages of reports on Çiçek prepared by the gendarmerie and the police, testimony records, video recordings and all documents about him in only two hours and ruling to release him,” İnce said. Stating that the judge overturned the decision to arrest Çiçek, which was made after 18 days of investigation by prosecutors, with a decision to release the colonel in just two hours, he said Saban created the fastest process to manifest “justice.”
Stating that they demand Saban be permanently appointed to the 14th High Criminal Court, İnce said, sarcastically, that they wish him continued success.