Over 100 retired Turkish admirals going through trial for releasing a so-called "declaration" in 2021, warning the Turkish government about the Montreux Convention, were acquitted on Tuesday after the court ruled that the legal elements of their crime were not found.
An Ankara High Criminal Court absolved all 103 defendants for the offense of "conspiring to commit a crime against state security and constitutional order" after hearing the defendants and their lawyers. The court unanimously decided that the legal elements of the said crime did not take shape.
The defendants include high-profile names like former naval commanders Bülent Bostanoğlu, Eşref Oğuz Yiğit and Murat Bilgel, along with retired Adms. Atilla Kezek, Atilla Kıyat, Arif Vehbi Alpman, Ergün Mengi, Işık Biren, Ilker Güven, Mustafa Özbey, Namık Kemal Çalışkan, Osman Metin Açımuz, Ramazan Cem Gürdeniz and Türker Ertürk.
Hours after the court’s ruling on Tuesday, the prosecution’s office announced it would object to the acquittal of the admirals. The case will be taken to the court of appeal in Ankara, the prosecution said, with the demand to overturn the verdict.
The admirals released their controversial "declaration" on April 4, 2021, a month after Türkiye’s decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women, with a presidential decree. Ankara’s exit had spurred questions about whether Türkiye could withdraw from other international agreements in the same way.
In a TV interview in late March of that year, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said that technically it was possible and gave the example of the Montreux Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits. Following discussions about Şentop's statements, 104 retired admirals released a statement warning the government about the artificial sea-level waterway Kanal Istanbul project aimed at stemming the rising risk posed by ships carrying dangerous goods via the Bosporus, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said would "reveal the burden" of the Montreux Convention.
"We are of the opinion to refrain from any kind of rhetoric or action that could make the Montreux Convention... a matter of controversy," the admirals said.
The statement caused a major reaction as the responsible admirals were detained and questioned, only to be released afterward, under judicial control. Days later, Ankara’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a probe into the "declaration" signed by the admirals, which drew strong condemnations from the government and the public who claimed the document implied interference in democratic institutions and the will of the public. Erdoğan even accused the admirals of "eyeing a coup" in the country.
In an indictment released in December 2021, the prosecution sought a prison sentence of up to 12 years for the admirals, arguing that they had aimed to act outside the chain of command within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in order to partially or completely prevent the government from performing its duties.
The Montreux Convention is a 1936 agreement that gives Türkiye control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles and regulates the transit of naval warships. The convention guarantees free passage to civilian vessels in times of peace and restricts the passage of naval ships that do not belong to littoral Black Sea states.
Signed on July 20, 1936, at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland, the convention gives Türkiye permission to remilitarize the Bosporus and Dardanelles. It came into effect on Nov. 9, 1936, and was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on Dec. 11, 1936.