103 retired admirals acquitted in ‘Montreux Declaration’ case

ANKARA

An Ankara court has decided to acquit 103 retired admirals accused of agreeing to commit crimes against the constitutional order for their joint declaration regarding the Montreux Convention, an agreement that gave Türkiye rights to control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles in 1936.

In the case where 103 retired admirals were tried as they signed the “Montreux declaration of admirals,” all the accused were acquitted on the grounds that legal elements for a crime were not formed in this case.

The chief judge of the court announced that the decision was made unanimously.

The 103 retired admirals who signed the declaration in April 2021 called for an end to the discussion about the Montreux Convention on the status of the Bosporus and Dardanelles.

After this declaration, a lawsuit was filed against the admirals, while the prosecutor requested acquittals for 91 defendants, convictions for 12 defendants and the removal of their ranks.

Evaluating the declaration as a “coup attempt,” the prosecutor claimed that 11 admirals and a brigadier general were “inspired by the coup and memoranda in the past, and the beginning of the text with the expression ‘Turkish Nation’ served this purpose.”

The prosecutor also alleged that the retired admirals wanted to benefit from the chain of command they used to have with this declaration.