Court issues subpoena for former Turkish prime minister in 1997 coup case

ANKARA

An Ankara court has issued a subpoena for former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller in a case into the harsh army-led campaign that forced the resignation of Turkey’s government in June 1997 – an event known as the “Feb. 28 process.”

Çiller, then-head of the True Path Party (DYP), was subpoenaed by Ankara Fifth Heavy Penal Court in order for her to testify as a victim and a witness to the infamous “post-modern coup.”

The former prime minister skipped previous hearings into the case, citing health issues. The next hearing of the case is scheduled to be held on July 18. 

Some 103 suspects face aggravated life sentences over “attempting to remove the government of the Turkish Republic.” 

Retired Chief of General Staff Gen. İsmail Hakkı Karadayı is the main suspect in the case, while the indictment names former generals Çevik Bir and Erol Özkasnak as second and third, respectively.
 
Çiller, meanwhile, is among the top victims of the “post-modern coup.”

Named after the harsh Feb. 28, 1997 National Security Council (MGK) declaration, the “Feb. 28 process” was the largest part of a series of events that eventually led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan.