Court rejects Başbuğ’s release

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Retired Chief of General Staff Gen İlker Başbuğ has been in prison since Jan 6, 2012. DHA photo

A high court in Istanbul has rejected the release requests of several defendants in connection with the Ergenekon case, including retired Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ.

Başbuğ’s lawyer had applied to Istanbul’s 14th Criminal Court after Istanbul’s 13th Criminal Court rejected his release request Aug. 16. 

The court rejected Başbuğ’s objection to arrest with a one-paragraph, eight-sentence justification, which said there was strong evidence showing that Başbuğ had committed the crimes he was charged with, and there was cause for arrest because these crimes were included in Article 100/3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK).

The third judicial package, which went into effect on July 5, mandated that verdicts about objections to arrest had to be detailed. Istanbul’s 14th Criminal Court did not seem to implement this amendment, which has been in effect about six weeks. 

The Ergenekon case regards an alleged ultranationalist shadowy gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup.