Istanbul Prosecutor appeals against acquittal of 7 suspects in Balyoz coup plot case

Istanbul's Anatolian Side Public Prosecutor's Office has appealed the acquittal from the Constitutional Court of seven suspects in the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot case on Tuesday, citing the decision was against the law and legal procedures.

The prosecutor's office has confirmed the acquittal of 229 suspects.

The seven former suspects include retired First Army Commander General Çetin Doğan, four other retired generals and two colonels.

The Balyoz coup plot case was based on a military exercise discussed in a seminar during Doğan's term in the First Army in Istanbul in 2003, which allegedly aimed to create chaos in Turkey to pave way for a military intervention.?

Most suspects were handed six to 20-year sentences for it being a partial attempt for a coup, however, these sentences were unanimously overruled by the Constitutional Court in 2014 due to violations of the defendants' rights. After this decision, a retrial began at an Istanbul court, in which the prosecution asked for the release of all 236 suspects, as the evidence was fabricated.

An investigation was started into the evidence that was first published by Turkey's Taraf daily, and Mehmet Baransu who obtained the documents, was detained in March 2015.