What Happened at the Meeting Regarding the Lieutenants?

The fate of the 7 lieutenants whose dismissal from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was requested following the disputes reported to have occurred at the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony at the Tuzla Infantry School—where it was alleged that a lieutenant refused to wear an Atatürk photograph—was discussed today at the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board (YDK) meeting. However, the decision regarding the lieutenants was not announced.

The YDK meeting, chaired by the Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command (KKK) and attended by the relevant department heads and the legal advisor of the KKK, began in the afternoon at 14:00 and lasted approximately 3.5 hours.

At the meeting, which was attended by the 4 lieutenants who reportedly reacted to the failure to wear Atatürk photographs and their lawyers, while the 3 lieutenants referred to as “cultists” and their lawyers did not attend and instead submitted written defenses, the defense of the 4 lieutenants was heard first. Subsequently, 10 lawyers representing the 3 lieutenants and two lawyers representing one lieutenant presented their defenses.

It was learned that while the YDK members did not ask any questions to the lieutenants or their lawyers, the lawyers—who did not make any political assessments and specifically emphasized that they did not want the TSK to be involved in political debates—made purely legal defenses, explaining that the swearing that took place did not constitute a crime warranting dismissal from the TSK.

The decision reached as a result of the YDK meeting is expected to be announced in the coming days.