Sledgehammer (coup plan)
Encyclopedia
Sledgehammer is the name of an alleged Turkish secularist military coup plan which reportedly dates back to 2003.
Reports of the alleged plot first surfaced in the liberal Taraf
newspaper, which said it had discovered documents detailing plans to bomb two Istanbul
mosques and accuse Greece
of shooting down a Turkish plane over the Aegean Sea
. The plan allegedly was to stir up chaos and justify a military coup.
The army said the plans had been discussed but only as part of a planning exercise at a military seminar.
On 5 April 2010 an additional 95 people (including 86 military personnel, 70 of them on active duty), were detained in 14 provinces on the same day. 9 suspects released earlier were rearrested on 6 April. However, Istanbul's chief prosecutor, Aykut Cengiz Engin ordered the removal of prosecutors Mehmet Berk and Bilal Bayraktar from the probe as his order "any detention decision should not be taken without my approval" was not abided by. On 6 April Engin also replaced coordinating prosecutor of the investigation Süleyman Pehlivan with Mehmet Ergül.
In May and June 2011 another round of interrogations followed resulting in the arrest of 15 members of the Turkish Armed Forces
. The arrests are based on documents reportedly seized in February from a house that belonged to Col. Hakan Buyuk. The new evidence consists of written documents, video files and digital material on a flash disk, and includes plans to be put into action if the alleged coup attempt were to fail.
. The presiding judge, Ömer Diken, was appointed only two days earlier, after the previous presiding judge was removed because of an ongoing disciplinary investigation. 187 defendants were present. Nine defendants including retired General Ergin Saygun had not appeared. None of the defendants was in pre-trial detention.
After the hearing of 11 February 2011 the court decided to arrest 163 defendants. Meanwhile the court room in Silivri Prison was extended.
On 20 February 2011 an additional indictment was forwarded to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 10. It charged 28 defendants, 15 of them in pre-trial detention in connection with documents found at the home of Colonel Hakan Büyük with "the attempt to remove the government of the Turkish Republic" and demanded sentences between 15 and 20 years' imprisonment. In case that the indictment is accepted the case may be merged with the main Sledgehammer (Balyoz) case in which 196 defendants are on trial.
On 29 July 2011 the court charged 22 suspects. On the same day the chief of the Turkish armed forces, Isik Kosaner
, has resigned along with the army, navy and air force heads. Kosaner portrayed his resignation as a protest at the jailing of military officers. "It has become impossible for me to continue in this high office, because I am unable to fulfil my responsibility to protect the rights of my personnel as the chief of general staff," Kosaner said.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
accepted the resignations and appointed Necdet Özel
as the chief of the armed forces. The decision stamped the civilian authority on the country’s military, which has long regarded itself as a protector of Turkey’s secular traditions.“This is effectively the end of the military’s role in Turkish democracy,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist for the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet
. “This is the symbolic moment where the first Turkish republic ends and the second republic begins.”
On 15 August 2011 Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 10 held the first hearing in the second Balyoz trial. 26 defendantsd were present, 21 of them in pre-trial detention. Prime suspect General Bilgin Balanlı read out a 4-page defence pleading not guilty. The demand to recuse the court was sent to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 11. The hearing was adjourned to 3 October 2011.
In mid-November 2011 a third 264-page indictment was sent to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 10, accusing 143 suspects, 66 of them in pre-trial detention with an attempt to overthrow the government. The prosecutor demanded to combine trial 1 and 2 with this case. After the cases 1 and 2 had been combined the number of defendants had increased to 244, 184 of them in pre-trial detention. Should this case also be merged the number of defendants will be 367.
repeatedly informed on the seminars in question and the expert opinion the prosecutor's office had demanded it was hard to understand why the court had ordered the continuation of pre-trial detention. Mehmet Ali Şahin, President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
, stated that the press release casts a doubt in the judiciary in Turkey. Deputy President of the AKP
, Hüseyin Çelik called this an interference in an ongoing trial.
US Ambassador to Ankara
Francis J. Ricciardone
stated that a transparent trial was expected and he tried to understand, how freedom of press could be discussed, when journalists were being arrested. Hüseyin Çelik called this an interference into internal affairs.
Relatives of chief suspect Çetin Doğan went further in their criticism. Dani Rodrik and Pinar Dogan stated, "What lies behind the trials is an apparent effort to discredit the government’s opponents on the basis of the flimsiest evidence and often, far worse, by framing them with planted evidence and forged documents." Commenting on all investigations in the Ergenekon cases the son-in-law and daughter of General Çetin Doğan alleged
Against this Fevzi Bilgin, Assistant Professor of Political Science, St. Mary's College of Maryland held, "Mr. Rodnik’s interpretation and presentation of the case is neither unbiased nor genuinely informational. It is also a platform to internationalize the grievances of the current military establishment in Turkey and defame the current government as being religiously motivated. In his opinion "It is rather likely that Sledgehammer was the first coup plan devised right after AKP’s victory in the parliamentary elections on November 3, 2002."
Reports of the alleged plot first surfaced in the liberal Taraf
Taraf
- External links :*. Website of Taraf ....
newspaper, which said it had discovered documents detailing plans to bomb two Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
mosques and accuse Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
of shooting down a Turkish plane over the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. The plan allegedly was to stir up chaos and justify a military coup.
The army said the plans had been discussed but only as part of a planning exercise at a military seminar.
Arrests
On 21 February 2010 operations were carried out in nine provinces. 49 people were detained including admirals, generals and colonels, some of them retired. On 23 February six of them were released, but seven were arrested. Another five suspects were arrested on 24 February. Further detentions and arrests followed, but at the beginning of April 2010 the number of people in pre-trial detention had dropped to nine, while 35 arrested suspects had been released, including prime suspect retired general Çetin Doğan, who had been the commander of the First Army. On 31 March and 1 April, 28 suspects in the investigation were released. A judge released 19 of the suspects due to the “existence of serious doubt regarding the crime”. 9 others were released due to their “social standing.”On 5 April 2010 an additional 95 people (including 86 military personnel, 70 of them on active duty), were detained in 14 provinces on the same day. 9 suspects released earlier were rearrested on 6 April. However, Istanbul's chief prosecutor, Aykut Cengiz Engin ordered the removal of prosecutors Mehmet Berk and Bilal Bayraktar from the probe as his order "any detention decision should not be taken without my approval" was not abided by. On 6 April Engin also replaced coordinating prosecutor of the investigation Süleyman Pehlivan with Mehmet Ergül.
In May and June 2011 another round of interrogations followed resulting in the arrest of 15 members of the Turkish Armed Forces
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
. The arrests are based on documents reportedly seized in February from a house that belonged to Col. Hakan Buyuk. The new evidence consists of written documents, video files and digital material on a flash disk, and includes plans to be put into action if the alleged coup attempt were to fail.
Trial
The trial started on 16 December 2010 with the first court hearing, held in the court house of Silivri PrisonSilivri Prison
Silivri Prison or officially Silivri Penitentiaries Campus is a high-security state correctional institution complex in the Silivri district of Istanbul Province in Turkey. Established in 2008, it is the country's most modern and Europe's largest penal facility.As of June 5, 2008, a total of...
. The presiding judge, Ömer Diken, was appointed only two days earlier, after the previous presiding judge was removed because of an ongoing disciplinary investigation. 187 defendants were present. Nine defendants including retired General Ergin Saygun had not appeared. None of the defendants was in pre-trial detention.
After the hearing of 11 February 2011 the court decided to arrest 163 defendants. Meanwhile the court room in Silivri Prison was extended.
On 20 February 2011 an additional indictment was forwarded to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 10. It charged 28 defendants, 15 of them in pre-trial detention in connection with documents found at the home of Colonel Hakan Büyük with "the attempt to remove the government of the Turkish Republic" and demanded sentences between 15 and 20 years' imprisonment. In case that the indictment is accepted the case may be merged with the main Sledgehammer (Balyoz) case in which 196 defendants are on trial.
On 29 July 2011 the court charged 22 suspects. On the same day the chief of the Turkish armed forces, Isik Kosaner
Isik Kosaner
Sebahattin Işık Koşaner is a Turkish former military general who served as the 27th Chief of the General Staff from 2010 to 2011.-Biography:...
, has resigned along with the army, navy and air force heads. Kosaner portrayed his resignation as a protest at the jailing of military officers. "It has become impossible for me to continue in this high office, because I am unable to fulfil my responsibility to protect the rights of my personnel as the chief of general staff," Kosaner said.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
accepted the resignations and appointed Necdet Özel
Necdet Özel
Necdet Özel is the 28th Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey. He was appointed to the post on 4 August 2011. He was described by Turkish media as "army man with strong democratic credentials" .- References :...
as the chief of the armed forces. The decision stamped the civilian authority on the country’s military, which has long regarded itself as a protector of Turkey’s secular traditions.“This is effectively the end of the military’s role in Turkish democracy,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist for the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet
Milliyet
Milliyet is a major Turkish daily newspaper founded in 1950.-History:Milliyet came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950...
. “This is the symbolic moment where the first Turkish republic ends and the second republic begins.”
On 15 August 2011 Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 10 held the first hearing in the second Balyoz trial. 26 defendantsd were present, 21 of them in pre-trial detention. Prime suspect General Bilgin Balanlı read out a 4-page defence pleading not guilty. The demand to recuse the court was sent to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 11. The hearing was adjourned to 3 October 2011.
In mid-November 2011 a third 264-page indictment was sent to Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 10, accusing 143 suspects, 66 of them in pre-trial detention with an attempt to overthrow the government. The prosecutor demanded to combine trial 1 and 2 with this case. After the cases 1 and 2 had been combined the number of defendants had increased to 244, 184 of them in pre-trial detention. Should this case also be merged the number of defendants will be 367.
Comments on the trial
When on 5 April 2011 the Court rejected the demands for release for the second time, the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces issued a press release. Reminding that the Turkish Armed ForcesTurkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
repeatedly informed on the seminars in question and the expert opinion the prosecutor's office had demanded it was hard to understand why the court had ordered the continuation of pre-trial detention. Mehmet Ali Şahin, President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
, stated that the press release casts a doubt in the judiciary in Turkey. Deputy President of the AKP
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
, Hüseyin Çelik called this an interference in an ongoing trial.
US Ambassador to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
Francis J. Ricciardone
Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr.
Francis J. Ricciardone is the United States ambassador to Turkey. Previously he was Deputy Ambassador at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was also on leave from the U.S. Department of State as a guest scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He has served as U.S...
stated that a transparent trial was expected and he tried to understand, how freedom of press could be discussed, when journalists were being arrested. Hüseyin Çelik called this an interference into internal affairs.
Relatives of chief suspect Çetin Doğan went further in their criticism. Dani Rodrik and Pinar Dogan stated, "What lies behind the trials is an apparent effort to discredit the government’s opponents on the basis of the flimsiest evidence and often, far worse, by framing them with planted evidence and forged documents." Commenting on all investigations in the Ergenekon cases the son-in-law and daughter of General Çetin Doğan alleged
- The key evidence is typically produced by anonymous informants
- They provide the “originals” of secret documents detailing criminal activities
- These revelations are followed by selective leaks to the media about the “evidence”
Against this Fevzi Bilgin, Assistant Professor of Political Science, St. Mary's College of Maryland held, "Mr. Rodnik’s interpretation and presentation of the case is neither unbiased nor genuinely informational. It is also a platform to internationalize the grievances of the current military establishment in Turkey and defame the current government as being religiously motivated. In his opinion "It is rather likely that Sledgehammer was the first coup plan devised right after AKP’s victory in the parliamentary elections on November 3, 2002."
External links
- Turkey, Ergenekon, and Sledgehammer Plan
- BBC:Top Turkish officers charged over "coup plot"
- SONER CAGAPTAY What's Really Behind Turkey's Coup Arrests?
- Website in English and Turkish; providing original documents such as the indictments as well as news and comments