500,000 Lira compensation demanded from lieutenants... The US Dollar exchange rate detail...

Remarkable developments are taking place in the cancellation lawsuits filed by lieutenants who were dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). These dismissals followed events at the Tuzla Infantry School during the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration Program in 2023, where a lieutenant failed to wear an Atatürk photograph, as well as the incident after the Kara Harp Okulu (Military Academy) graduation ceremony last August 30, where they crossed swords and declared, “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal.” Meanwhile, interesting decisions are being made to prevent similar “acts of indiscipline.”

Let us start with the latest one.

On March 15, a regulation change regarding military students was published in the Official Gazette.

Our entire media reported this two-article change with headlines such as, “Military students will not be able to transfer laterally... a ban on lateral transfers for military students.”

Yes, with the first article of the change, it was prohibited for military students studying in faculties and colleges to transfer laterally to other universities or change their departments.

But the second article was more important and directly related to the incident at the Military Academy.

The article in question in the regulation dated March 23, 2021, was as follows:

“Military students studying in faculties or colleges on behalf of and at the expense of the Ministry are appointed as lieutenants effective from the end of the month in which they graduate from the faculty or college.”

With the change on March 15, the new version of this article became:

“The appointment dates of military students studying in faculties or colleges on behalf of and at the expense of the Ministry to the rank of lieutenant are their graduation dates.”

It emerged from the Administrative Investigation Report

What is the cause and effect of this?

In the Administrative Investigation Report prepared within the scope of the investigation opened against the lieutenants who performed that ritual among themselves after the Military Academy graduation ceremony, a series of recommendations were made “to avoid encountering similar events.”

Among these was a recommendation such as, “not to carry out the appointment of cadets who have ongoing judicial and disciplinary proceedings as of August 20, and to make a legislative change regarding carrying out the appointment according to the result of the proceedings.”

We asked the cadets what this recommendation meant, and in our article dated January 3 titled “Martial law-like measures at the Military Academy,” we provided the following information:

“While lieutenants were considered graduated as officers as of August 20 and their files were sent to the Land Forces Command until today, according to the new decision, a practice has been initiated where the graduation of those who have judicial and disciplinary proceedings against them is postponed until these proceedings are concluded, and they are kept at the schools.”

This de facto measure was legalized with the regulation change on March 15. Accordingly, from now on, not only those who have judicial and disciplinary proceedings against them, but all lieutenants will only be entitled to become officers if they pass the August 30 graduation ceremony “without any accidents or trouble”!..

Compensation with US Dollar exchange rate demanded from lieutenants

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel announced at the Parliamentary Group Meeting on February 4 that the CHP Group would cover the potential compensation that both these 5 lieutenants and the lieutenants dismissed from the Tuzla Infantry School would have to pay to the TSK by making deductions from their salaries, stating, “The bread the lieutenant eats, the bullet they fire... The debt is our debt.”

The compensation that the 5 lieutenants had to pay for completing their mandatory service obligation was calculated as of February 27.

In the calculations, education, training, and development expenses, as well as course fees and travel allowances, were totaled, and compensation of around 450,000-500,000 liras was demanded from each of them.

It was noted that in the calculations for the lieutenants' shooting and parachute courses, the US Dollar exchange rate was taken as 26 liras for 2023 and 36 liras for 2024.

As is known, the lieutenants filed a lawsuit for the cancellation of the dismissal process; naturally, they also requested that the payment of the compensation be suspended.

However, the Land Forces Command gave the following response:

“The Administrative Procedure Law dictates that ‘Filing a lawsuit in the Council of State or Administrative Courts does not stay the execution of the administrative action being sued.’ Therefore, the stay of execution of an administrative action depends on a stay of execution or cancellation decision given by the authorized and competent administrative court. For this reason, the follow-up regarding your clear debt file can only be stopped or terminated as a result of a stay of execution or cancellation decision to be given by the authorized and competent administrative court.”

What decision was made regarding the two lieutenants?

Let us come to the lawsuits filed in administrative courts by the lieutenants for the stay of execution and cancellation of the dismissal decision.

In the lawsuit filed by Lieutenant Batuhan Gazi Kılıç, the court decided that the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) should provide a detailed explanation that would serve as a separate and clear answer to all the allegations in the petition, and that all information and documents forming the basis of the dismissal process should be requested in full. The court decided that the request for a stay of execution would be examined after the defense of the MSB was received. While the court specifically requested that the dismissal decision of the lieutenants be sent in its full form with the signatures of all members, it also warned that if the MSB does not comply with this interim decision within 1 month, a decision could be made based on the existing information and documents in the file, and that this situation could lead to the administrative, criminal, and legal responsibility of those concerned.

A similar decision was made in the lawsuit filed by Lieutenant Deniz Demirtaş.

Negative decision for Tuzla Infantry

Finally, let us report the result of one of the lawsuits filed by the lieutenants who were dismissed from the TSK due to the discussions that took place after a lieutenant did not wear an Atatürk photograph on his lapel at the Tuzla Infantry School on November 10, 2023.

The lawsuit filed by Lieutenant Ö.S. for the stay of execution and cancellation of the dismissal process resulted against Ö.S.

After explaining the TSK Disciplinary Law and the TSK High Disciplinary Boards Regulation in two pages of its 16-page decision, the Administrative Court, citing WhatsApp correspondence and the discussions that took place after an Atatürk photograph was hung in the ward where the lieutenant who refused to wear the Atatürk photograph stayed, unanimously concluded that Ö.S. “significantly damaged the military atmosphere and the spirit of comradeship and unity, which are among the fundamental values of the profession, with an absolute understanding of discipline, and engaged in acts that constitute attitudes, behaviors, and indiscipline that would damage the reputation of the State and the TSK,” and decided that “there is no illegality in the dismissal process from the TSK.”

Ö.S.'s lawyers have also appealed this decision before the Regional Administrative Court.

What can one say to those who do not speak up against Greece, which allows students of the Naval Infantry School to curse at Turkey on its “independence anniversary” on March 25, yet make our lieutenants who stand up for Atatürk endure these torments?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 4, 2025