Ankara - "Regarding this issue, the legal process has begun. On account of [judicial independence] my remarks may not seem appropriate, but as colleagues we worked together for two years and I hope he will be released pending the trial. Personally my political party and I would like to see a speedy end to his trial. We do not believe his arrest is fair.'' These words were spoken by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan two days after the arrest of former Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ, who was accused leading an anti-government Internet campaign on Jan. 9, 2012.
It was the first time that a former chief of the armed forces testified as a suspect in a criminal case in a civilian court. Başbuğ, who retired in 2010, is the highestranking officer to be caught up in a widening probe into the Ergenekon network, an ultra-nationalist group accused by prosecutors of conspiring to topple the government.
Başbuğ was facing charges of "gang leadership" and seeking to unseat the government by force. "If I am being accused of bringing down the government with a couple of press statements and one or two Internet stories, this is very bitter," Turkish media outlets quoted Başbuğ, citing court papers. "If I had such bad intentions, as the commander of a 700,000-strong force, there would have been other ways of doing it," he said.
The alleged conspiracy was reported in 2009 by the Turkish newspaper Taraf with links to the Gülen Movement, whose members enjoy a strong presence in the judiciary and police forces. The newspaper printed a photocopy of an alleged plan to damage the reputation of the government by portraying it as corrupt. Başbuğ described the plan "as a piece of paper" that has no legitimacy and is part of another psychological smear campaign against the military. Basbuğ was later sent to Istanbul's Silivri Prison where others suspected of belonging to the Ergenekon network were jailed.
The ex-army chief was sentenced to life in prison in August 2013, along with hundreds of other military officers who were given long jail terms.
İlker Basbug told journalists before being taken to prison, «The 26th chief of military staff of the Turkish Republic is being accused of forming and leading a terror organization.
I leave it up to the great Turkish people to decide." Başbuğ repeated the exact same sentences just after his release on Friday night after spending 26 month in prison. His release came one day after Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that Başbuğ›s legal rights had been violated, saying that a lower court had failed to publish a detailed verdict on the case and sent it to the appeals court. "Turkish people have understood that we have no interest in plotting a coup and that it is unacceptable to accuse a general of being a member of a terrorist organization," he added.
Erdoğan welcomed the court's decision, saying, "You already know my opinions on this issue. The decision of the local court is important to us." He added, "However, I don't know whether the process will be affected by the president's approval of the law on specially authorized courts."
Later on Friday Erdoğan called Başbuğ, conveyed his good wishes to him and expressed his satisfaction regarding his release.
The court's decision to discharge came only one day after President Abdullah Gül's approval of a law that abolished specially authorized courts (ÖYM). In February, the Turkish Parliament approved a "democratization package," which abolished the ÖYMs and other special courts authorized by counterterrorism laws, while also reducing the limit of lengthy detentions to five years. The government's move was welcomed by Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
Some have contended that the Ergenekon case was manipulated by prosecutors who were linked to the Gülen Movement. The lead prosecutor in the Ergenekon case was Zekeriya Öz who is believed to be affiliated with the controversial imam Fettulah Gülen. Öz was also the lead prosecutor in cases related to match-fixing in Turkish football and the Dec. 17 operation. Media reports revealed in January that Öz and his family went on a luxury vacation to Dubai and claimed that Turkish real estate tycoon Ali Ağaoglu, who was briefly detained for questioning as part of the Dec 17. operation, covered the travel costs. Press reports led the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), Turkey's leading authority on judicial affairs, to initiate an internal investigation to shed light on the prosecutor's ties with the business tycoon. Öz was later removed from the Dec. 17 case as a result of the investigation.
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