The final act in the lieutenants' dispute: Another lieutenant facing dismissal submits defense

Ersin Eroğlu/ 12punto EXCLUSIVE

Seven lieutenants had been dismissed following a dispute that began when a lieutenant did not wear an Atatürk pin at the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony. Four of the lieutenants were among those who reacted to the lieutenant who did not wear the Atatürk pin, while one was the lieutenant who did not wear the pin, and two were those who supported him.

It has been learned that as a result of the expanded investigation, Lieutenant S.Ç., who reacted to the lieutenants alleged to be members of a religious sect, was dismissed two months ago, and Lieutenant I.T., who is facing dismissal, submitted his defense to the Ministry of National Defense High Disciplinary Board yesterday.

QUESTIONED ABOUT ATATÜRK'S ARMED PHOTOGRAPH

One of the accusations directed at Lieutenant I.T. was that he shared a photograph of Atatürk holding a weapon in a WhatsApp group named 'IBAN'. When asked why he shared such a photo over a photograph of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi King Salman, Lieutenant I.T. stated the following:

"It is a joke made regarding Atatürk's probable course of action as a result of Atatürk coming face-to-face with an Arab leader, in reference to the activities the Arabs carried out against the Ottoman Empire before the First World War."

When asked, "What kind of joke were you trying to make?", Lieutenant I.T. replied, "It was humor regarding the fact that Atatürk's stance against Arab leaders of that period would not be diplomatic. The subject is entirely related to my perspective on Arabs. I had no other intention."

When asked about his message in the WhatsApp group stating, "Our domestic car is a citizen. For now, only the government can ride it," Lieutenant I.T. stated that he did not remember it.

'RIGHT TO DEFENSE RESTRICTED'

In the petition submitted to the High Disciplinary Board, the lawyers for Lieutenant I.T. stated that their right to defense had been restricted and said the following:

“We applied for the information and documents explaining how the posts subject to the disciplinary investigation were obtained, as well as the order from the Army Aviation Command. In response to our application, these were only provided to us on June 6, 2024, which is 3 working days before the disciplinary board was set to convene. The fact that the information and documents in question, which are or should be in the disciplinary investigation file, were not delivered to the client before the notification of the written defense request prevented the client from making an effective defense, and this situation resulted in a violation of the right to a fair trial. The fact that the documents in question were not provided by the Command upon the first request means that the entire contents of the file were not provided to us, and the fact that they were provided only 3 working days before the oral defense day at the High Disciplinary Board upon our second request also constitutes an illegality that restricts our right to defense.”

The lawyers stated that their questions regarding how the conversations in the private WhatsApp group were obtained remained unanswered and expressed that the penalty to be imposed must be proportionate to the actions.

The High Disciplinary Board will make a decision regarding Lieutenant I.T., who is facing permanent dismissal, within 15 days.

On the other hand, if Lieutenant I.T. is also dismissed, the number of lieutenants dismissed following the fight that started at the Tuzla Infantry School will rise to 9.

WHAT HAPPENED IN TUZLA?

A fight broke out between a lieutenant who did not wear an Atatürk photograph on his lapel during the November 10 ceremony and the lieutenants who reacted to him.

The dispute between the lieutenants continued in the following days. On November 13, some lieutenants hung an Atatürk poster on the door of dormitory number 405, where the lieutenants who did not wear Atatürk photographs on their lapels were staying. A scuffle broke out between the lieutenants who reacted to the Atatürk poster and those who hung it. After the scuffle, Infantry Lieutenant A.A., who did not wear an Atatürk photograph on his lapel on November 10, went to Tuzla State Hospital to obtain a medical report for assault. When the hospital issued a report stating that no signs of assault were found, he went to the Tuzla Police Station to file a complaint.

Following these developments, the Land Forces Command initiated an administrative investigation. In the report prepared by the Disciplinary Investigation Board on December 5, the expulsion of the four lieutenants who reacted to those who did not wear Atatürk photographs on their lapels was requested. The Disciplinary Investigation Board also requested the expulsion of the three lieutenants staying in dormitory number 405.

It was revealed that the lieutenants who did not wear Atatürk photographs had established a WhatsApp group called 'Hubb-i fillah,' which means 'loving for the sake of Allah.' In the correspondence within this group, it emerged that they went to a house on weekends, received books from an 'elder' (a mentor), and spoke of a 'cause'.

Footage showing the group of lieutenants acting in concert with the lieutenant who did not wear an Atatürk photograph at the November 10 ceremony at the Tuzla Infantry School, inviting their subordinates to a house belonging to the Nurcu movement on weekends, had been the subject of news reports.

In the footage, another lieutenant staying in the same dormitory as the lieutenant who did not wear an Atatürk photograph was seen inviting his subordinates to a community affiliated with the Nurcu movement.

F.A., who invited his subordinate to a religious gathering, is one of the lieutenants who was dismissed from the school along with A.A., who did not wear an Atatürk photograph on his lapel.