Officer charged with building shelter for dog with military material acquitted of charges

Toygun Atilla - ISTANBUL

A Turkish army officer has been acquitted of charges of using military material, which he used to build a shelter for a stray dog, for his own personal benefit after the prosecutor in the case was changed. 

The Turkish army captain, identified with his initials O.G., was facing up to two years in prison for using military material for his own personal benefit to make a dog shelter. By taking care of a stray dog, the captain was accused of taking spiritual and not material advantage of satisfying his love of animals. 

İlkay Sezer, the captain’s attorney, argued he had seen a flower in prosecutor First Lieutenant İsmail Savcı’s room in the courthouse, which would mean that by taking care of the flower, Savcı was taking spiritual advantage of the plant. 

A new prosecutor, Major Erol Turan, was appointed to the case after Savcı demanded his withdrawal from the trial upon Sezer’s accusations. 

Turan demanded the acquittal of the suspect, as the dog did not belong to the captain and there was no evidence against the captain’s testimony that the material he used to build the shelter was garbage. 

The court decided in line with the prosecutor’s demand and acquitted O.G. of the charges against him.