Turkish Forum

Tag: Justice and Development Party

  • Turkish ex-military chief Ilker Basbug freed from jail

    Turkish ex-military chief Ilker Basbug freed from jail

    ilker basbug1
    “They stole 26 months from my life,” Ilker Basbug tells reporters after being released from prison

    A former Turkish army chief who was sentenced to life for his role in a plot to overthrow the government has been freed from prison in Istanbul.

    A local court ordered the release of Gen Ilker Basbug, a day after Turkey’s constitutional court overturned his sentence citing a legal technicality.

    Gen Basbug, who was in charge of the Turkish military from 2008 to 2010, was sentenced to life in August 2013.

    Dozens of people were charged over the alleged plot.

    Gen Basbug was found guilty of leading a shadowy network of hard-line nationalists known as Ergenekon.

    The group was said to have plotted to topple the current government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

    But Gen Basbug, who has always denied the charges, walked free on Friday.

    ‘Rights violations’

    Turkey’s constitutional court ruled on Thursday that Gen Basbug’s imprisonment had violated his rights.

    The court trying him had failed to publish a detailed verdict on the case, it said.

    Speaking outside the prison in Istanbul, where he had been held for over two years, Gen Basbug said: “Those who acted with hatred and revenge kept us here for 26 months. They stole 26 months from my life.”

    Crowds of supporters gathered outside Silivri prison, awaiting the release of Mr Basbug
    Crowds of supporters gathered outside Silivri prison, awaiting the release of Mr Basbug

    His lawyer, Ilkay Sezer, welcomed the release but said there were “many more people in jails who are suffering severe health problems and who have been victims of these courts”.

    Hundreds of people were jailed in 2012 and 2013 in two high-profile cases, called Sledgehammer and Ergenekon.

    In January, the high command of the armed forces and opposition both demanded a retrial for the officers.

    Prime Minister Erdogan later said he favoured a retrial, in what many saw as a political turnaround.

    In February, the Turkish parliament abolished the specially appointed courts that tried the officers, increasing the possibility of retrials for those convicted.

    The latest ruling comes amid heightened political tensions in Turkey over alleged corruption within the government.

    The ruling AK Party is rooted in Islam and has moved to curb the power of the Turkish military, which sees itself as guardian of the modern secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

    bbc.co.uk, 7 March 2014

  • Turkey’s Wrong Turn

    Turkey’s Wrong Turn

    By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

    Goturrr

    Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was in Brussels last week seeking to repair relations with Europe, but the first place to look for a solution is within himself. Once hailed as the leader of a model Muslim democracy, he has created a political disaster at home, transforming Turkey into an authoritarian state that poses dangers not just for itself but for its allies in NATO, including the United States.

    The latest turmoil has its roots in a political war between Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party and his former close allies who follow Fethullah Gulen, a moderate Islamic scholar who lives in Pennsylvania. The tensions erupted into the open last month with a corruption probe that led to the resignation of four government ministers and threatened to ensnare Mr. Erdogan’s family. The prime minister called the probe a “coup attempt” and blamed a “secret organization” within the judiciary and police directed by the Gulen movement and serving “foreign powers” like the United States and Israel. The government has since purged hundreds of police officials and prosecutors and sought to assert control over the judiciary. It also drafted legislation expanding the government’s power to appoint judges and prosecutors, further breaching judicial independence, and has prevented journalists from reporting freely. All the while, Mr. Erdogan has spewed endless conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric, even hinting at American treachery and suggesting that the American ambassador might be expelled.

    The probe and Mr. Erdogan’s reaction may well be politically motivated. There are important local elections in March. But Mr. Erdogan should be insisting that the probe be fair and transparent, not trying to derail it. His ruthless ways and his attempt to crush dissent are not new, as the crackdown against demonstrators during protests last June showed. Such actions trample on democratic reforms demanded by the European Union as part of Turkey’s bid for union membership, which may be more in peril than ever, and are increasingly at odds with the ground rules for NATO members.

    Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was right when he said in Brussels that the Europeans must demand that Turkey return to the rule of law. The Obama administration also needs to send a strong message about the damaging course Mr. Erdogan is pursuing. Whether Turkey nurtures its hard-won democracy, which has contributed to its impressive economic growth, or turns authoritarian is as critical to regional stability and to its NATO allies as it is to Turks.

    A VERSION OF THIS EDITORIAL APPEARS IN PRINT ON JANUARY 28, 2014, IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES.