The Ankara public prosecutor's office demanded up to 12 years in prison for 12 defendants, including Atilla Kıyat, Ergün Mengi and Türker Ertürk, in the "Montreux Convention" case where former admirals are accused of crimes against the security of the state. Prosecutors also demanded acquittals for the remaining 91 people.
About 103 retired admirals signed the statement known as the "Admirals' Montreux Convention Statement," which is viewed as a veiled threat toward the government, something intolerable for a country that has suffered multiple coups in the past.
The prosecutor presented his opinion on the merits of the case, brought with the request of up to 12 years imprisonment for "contracting to commit a crime against the security of the state or the constitutional order."
At the Ankara High Criminal Court, some pending defendants and their lawyers attended the hearing. The president of the court promised the prosecutor to explain his opinion on the merits after reading the documents in the case file.
The prosecutor stated that the defendants Alper Çetin Tezeren, Atilla Kezek, Atilla Kıyat, Arif Vehbi Alpman, Ergün Mengi, Işık Biren, İlker Güven, Mustafa Özbey, Namık Kemal Çalışkan, Osman Metin Açımuz, Ramazan Cem Gürdeniz and Türker Ertürk created a WhatsApp group named ADMEK-2 where they contributed, from sharing the draft to the declaration and agreed to undersign agreement.
The defendants in question were targeting the elected government, according to prosecutors. In the statement, the prosecutor pointed out that they agreed to mobilize active military personnel and the opposition sections of the society. He emphasized that the Montreux emphasis was also used as a "tool" and that this was understood from the correspondence of the defendants in the WhatsApp group.
In his opinion, the prosecutor shared the statement prepared with the common participation of the defendants with the public. He stated that they aimed to act outside the command in the Turkish Armed Forces to take action against the legitimate power and to prevent the government from doing its duties partially or completely.
Accordingly, the prosecutor, the defendants, Tezeren, Kezek, Kıyat, Alpman, Mengi, Biren, Güven, Özbey, Çalışkan, Açımuz, Gürdeniz and Ertürk committed the crime of "against the security of the state or the constitutional order" and demanded that they be sentenced to imprisonment from three to 12 years.
The prosecutor demanded acquittal separately for other defendants, stating that 91, including former Navy commanders Bülent Bostanoğlu, Eşref Oğuz Yiğit and Murat Bilgel, had no intentions for the alleged crime, and that they did not have the will to participate in the actions of the 12 people facing punishment.
Later, the attorneys spoke up and requested more time to counter the substantive opinion. Considering the demands appropriate, the court adjourned the hearing until Dec. 12, 2022.
