Turkish Court of Appeals upholds verdicts in coup plot case

PanARMENIAN.Net - The 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals on Wednesday, Oct 9, announced its ruling in the appeals trial of the Sledgehammer coup plot case, upholding convictions of 237 suspects, including retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, Today’s Zaman reported.

The court overturned arrest decisions for 63 suspects while prison sentences for 36 suspects including retired Gen. Çetin Doğan were upheld. The court upheld the acquittal of 34 suspects while it overturned convictions of 25 others and ruled for their acquittal. Explaining its grounds for overturning the arrest decisions for the 63 suspects, the high court said they should have been charged with membership in a criminal organization instead of a failed coup attempt.

The Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court on Sept 21, 2012, convicted over 300 suspects of being involved in a coup plot organized by former 1st army commander Doğan.

Sledgehammer is a coup plot created at a military gathering in 2003. According to the plan, the military was to systematically foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in Istanbul. The plot allegedly sought to undermine the government, laying the groundwork for a military takeover. The suspects were accused of a failed attempt to overthrow the government.

The Sledgehammer documents were the basis of a presentation given by Doğan during a military conference on March 5-7, 2003 held at the Selimiye barracks. According to the court, the conference, part of a series of regular “War Seminars” in which military officers brainstormed using case studies, was far from a “routine scenario,” and in fact involved a coup d'état plan.

Retired Gen. Doğan, speaking at the Selimiye seminar, reportedly said Article 35 of the Internal Service Code gives the military sufficient authority to undertake a coup.