Turkish army expels non-commissioned officer kidnapped by ISIL

Toygun Atilla - ISTANBUL

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has expelled a non-commissioned officer who was kidnapped in January and released four days later by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists, on charges of “not resisting ISIL, being an instrument for the group’s propaganda in the media, and harming the reputation of the TSK.”

The penalty was issued by the Land Forces Command’s Supreme Disciplinary Board on June 24.

Özgür Örs was kidnapped by jihadist militants during an anti-smuggling operation in the southeastern province of Kilis, after he crossed to Syria on Jan. 1. 

He was subsequently released on Jan. 5 after an operation by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

Following his return, Örs testified to the Kilis Prosecutor’s Office as a victim and was later questioned by a military prosecutor as a part of a probe into the incident. A notice was subsequently delivered to Örs on Feb. 27 regarding disciplinary proceedings against him, calling on him to prepare his defense against charges. 

At the time, Örs was sent to the disciplinary board on charges of “being intercepted by terrorist organizations of foreign countries, thus having provided instrument for propaganda of the organizations due to reflection of the incident in national and international media and having harmed the reputation of the state of the Republic of Turkey and the TSK.”

In its eventual decision on June 24, the board ruled in favor of Örs’ obligatory retirement and his discharge from the TSK.