Flash decision for dismissed lieutenants: Unanimously overturned
The Ankara 21st Administrative Court has unanimously overturned the dismissal of Deniz Demirtaş, one of the five lieutenants expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for crossing swords and reciting the Officer's Oath, declaring "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal," after the official portion of the graduation ceremony at the Military Academy concluded.
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In its decision dated December 26, the 21st Administrative Court first emphasized that maintaining a fair balance between disciplinary actions and sanctions is a requirement of the rule of law, and that for this to be achieved, the specific disciplinary rule violated must be clearly established.
The court then stated that there was no concrete, legally admissible evidence to support the accusation that Lieutenant Deniz Demirtaş, along with Student Regiment Senior Lieutenant İzzet Akarsu, had prepared the message sent to a WhatsApp group the night before the graduation ceremony, which read: "I am waiting for everyone in the middle of the stadium at the end of the ceremony to perform some celebrations that we could not do due to the Ceremony Regulation, which will not involve political action or misunderstanding, to carry out our traditional sword raising, and more importantly, to commemorate our brave brother, our martyr." Furthermore, it was noted that Lieutenant Demirtaş was not in the inner circle during the oath-reciting action.
With these justifications, the Court unanimously overturned the decision to dismiss him from the TSK and ruled that the financial losses incurred during this process be paid to Lieutenant Deniz Demirtaş along with the applicable legal interest.
Müyesser YILDIZ
January 23, 2026