All 236 Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot case suspects were acquitted on Tuesday after the prosecutor of the case sought the acquittal of all 236 suspects, including of former First Army Commander, retired General Çetin Doğan, asserting that the digital data in the file, which was presented as the key piece of evidence in the case, cannot serve as evidence in the court since an expert report revealed its falsity.A new trial began for the Sledgehammer coup plot case suspects after the Constitutional Court ruled for a retrial of the convicted members of the military, citing violations of their rights. The suspects were originally convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, a term that was previously life imprisonment but was reduced since the coup attempt was not carried out successfully. They were later released upon the ruling of the Constitutional Court. They are now being retried with a fifth hearing taking place on Tuesday at the Anadolu 4th High Criminal court."The digital data in the file does not satisfy the qualifications of evidence, it has been determined that the digital evidence that is related to the charges and the suspects is impossible to be linked to the suspects," the prosecutor said in the hearing before demanding the acquittal of all the suspects. There were allegations that the digital data that was submitted to court as evidence to incriminate the suspects had been fabricated.The specially authorized courts that heard critical cases, including the Sledgehammer case, were abolished in 2014. These courts were suspected of being partial in their rulings, with members of the Gülen Movement suspected of being members of the judiciary that heard the cases.President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on his visit to the War Academy Command on March 20, touched on the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer coup plot cases, and said the entire nation has been deceived with the operation conducted by Gülenist infiltrators. Alluding to the alleged infiltration by members of the Gülen Movement in key government institutions such as the judiciary, police and the army, he further added: "We were exposed to a plot set by a structure that nested in our institutions and was supported by media with an aim to topple the government." He continued: "With all my sincerity, I was never content with the army chief and the generals that I closely knew being arrested.""The fact that the digital data is faked has been proven by an expert report. I demand that the trial come to a conclusion as soon as possible and for my acquittal," Doğan said.The prosecutor also demanded that a criminal complaint should be filed on forgery charges for those who were involved in fabricating the data.The Sledgehammer case refers to an alleged coup plot staged by the First Army Command between March 5 and March 7, 2003 in an attempt to overthrow the Turkish Republic's elected government. The five-stage plan was allegedly prepared by a junta under the leadership of then First Army Commander Doğan. The five phases are said to have included the Oraj plan by the Air Force and the Suga plan by the Navy in an attempt to foment chaos and lay the groundwork for a coup. Other plans involved targeting religious leaders, non-Muslim community leaders, anti-coup academics and pro-democracy journalists. According to the alleged coup plot, the bombing of the Fatih and Beyazit Mosques would have forced the government to implement martial law while the downing of a Turkish warplane over Greek airfields would have provoked the Turkish public.Gülen Movement-affiliated journalist Mehmet Baransu of Taraf daily was sent to court on March 1 following a demand for his arrest for plotting against some suspects of the Sledgehammer trial. He was arrested on a warrant from an Istanbul court and is pending trial. Baransu is facing charges that he was engaged in plotting against some suspects by trumping up evidence.