All suspects of Poyrazköy coup plot case acquitted by Istanbul court

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

An Istanbul court ruled the acquittal of 83 suspects in Poyrazköy coup plot case on Oct. 2 and the case to be closed for a naval army member who died 2014.

Anadolu 5th Penal Court ruled on Oct. 2 to acquit all suspects from all charges in the Poyrazköy case, which also included cases such as “cage action plan,”  “assassination attempts on admirals,” “files found in Gölcük” and “probe against ÇYDD [Support for Contemporary Living Association].”

On Sept. 18, Istanbul prosecutor Sezai Öztürk demanded the acquittal of 83 suspects in Poyrazköy case.

ÇYDD head Prof. Dr. Aysel Çelikel held a press statement in front of the courthouse on Oct. 2 after the ruling.

“I thank the prosecutor for strengthening our belief in justice, which was already lost,” she said.

Retired commander Levent Bektaş, who was released January last year pending trial, also made statements after the ruling. “The friends we have lost and justice coming so late make it a bittersweet happiness,” said Bektaş.

During the trial at the Anadolu 5th Penal Court, prosecutor said 83 suspects should be acquitted in his 19-page opinion. The prosecutor also said the case should be closed for naval army member Saadettin Doğan, who passed away May 27, 2014.

The Poyrazköy case probed the discovery of a large cache of ammunition in a military zone on the outskirts of Istanbul. Excavations in the Poyrazköy area on the Asian side of Istanbul were carried out, after nine sacks of documents confiscated from a Navy base in Gölcük were investigated.

A total of 17 suspects, mostly naval officers, were then indicted for involvement in a plot to discredit and unseat the Turkish government.

On Jan. 28, 2014, all suspects in the case were released on probation, in light of a Constitution Court ruling on lengthy detentions. Rear Admiral Şafak Yürekli and Gülseven Yaşer, the former head of Contemporary Education Foundation (ÇEV), were also along the 83 suspects acquitted at the Oct. 2 hearing.