Arrest warrant issued for Balyoz plot judge after failure to appear in court

12punto columnist and journalist Müyesser Yıldız reported on her social media account that an arrest warrant has been issued for former judge Menekşe Uyar.

An arrest warrant was issued for Menekşe Uyar, one of the former judges who failed to appear to provide additional defense in the case heard at the Court of Cassation against 50 judges and prosecutors—some of whom are fugitives—who were involved in the investigation and prosecution of the Balyoz plot case, on charges of "misconduct, deprivation of liberty, and disclosing information related to state security." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice reported that two of the fugitive defendants may be in Germany and one in the Netherlands.

In today's session of the case, which is being heard by the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation acting as a court of first instance, some of the defendants detained for membership in an organization connected via SEGBİS from the prisons where they are held, while non-detained defendants connected from their respective provinces. Hüsnü Çalmuk, who was released in recent months after completing his prison sentence for the Ergenekon plot, was present in the courtroom.

In the hearing, which was attended by only a few of the plot victims—Ali Deniz Kutluk, Can Erenoğlu, Mustafa Önsel, Mustafa Koç, Yusuf Ziya Toker, Hanefi Yıldırım, İsmet Kışla, and lawyer Ahmet Erdem—statements and requests for participation regarding some files that were decided to be merged with this case were received.

One of the defendants, former Balyoz case judge Ali Efendi Peksak, claimed that the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) had lost its impartiality and was acting like a judicial authority despite having no such jurisdiction. Explaining that it is contrary to the principle of equality before the law that no action was taken against some of the approximately 70 judges and prosecutors who served at the Beşiktaş Courthouse during the investigation/trial phase of the Balyoz case, Peksak also stated that there was no organization called "FETÖ" during the period when the Balyoz case was heard, saying, "If it exists, let the court decision regarding this be brought to the file."

ARE THREE DEFENDANTS IN GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS?

Meanwhile, providing information about the documents received by the file, 9th Criminal Chamber President Maruf Alikanoğlu announced that the Ministry of Justice Directorate General for Foreign Relations and EU Affairs had sent intelligence information indicating that fugitive defendants Mustafa Boz and Mesut Özcan, for whom arrest warrants have been issued, may be in Germany, and Mehmet Karababa may be in the Netherlands.

"THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO HIDE"

Following Peksak, the statements of the complainants present in the courtroom were heard. Court President Maruf Alikanoğlu gave the floor to retired Gendarmerie Staff Colonel Mustafa Koç, who was not granted the status of a participant because his name was not mentioned in the indictment, saying, "Since you have come this far, let me take your statement." President Alikanoğlu responded to Koç's request, "I want to participate in the case," by saying, "It doesn't work like that." After this dialogue, Koç said the following:

"As far as I know, one can intervene at every stage of the case. This disorganization hurts our conscience. The defendants being tried gave me a 16-year sentence with organizational intent, as officers of the organization. I served 4 years in prison. A gang organized within the judiciary settled into the legal system and set this trap for us. But they are paying the price for this by only receiving a 7-year sentence for membership in an organization. Their crime is not membership in an organization, but the open violation of the Constitution. This price must be paid. Ali Efendi Peksak and Ömer Diken have no place to hide."

When President Alikanoğlu intervened regarding these final words, saying, "I did not give you the floor to use such expressions. I shouldn't have listened to you. You came out of courtesy, you made an effort, that's why I listened," Koç stated that he was just venting.

"TSK'S EARTHQUAKE PLAN WAS CANCELLED BECAUSE OF BALYOZ"

Among the participants, retired Vice Admiral Can Erenoğlu submitted the HSK's decision to dismiss the former judges and prosecutors who are defendants to the court as an additional statement, while retired Staff Colonel Yusuf Ziya Toker spoke as follows:

"Today is a very important day. Exactly 13 years ago, on February 11, they arrested 163 innocent officers. It is impossible to forget that night. We responded to them with the Harbiye March. I want to ask Ali Efendi Peksak, who was at all the Balyoz hearings, the following: Was there a single wet signature on the so-called documents in the file? Was he aware that the writing on the CDs was written by a machine? We had all those so-called documents examined by 5 judges from 5 different countries; they said, 'These are fake.' Was he aware of this? We have moved past our own case. The state our country has reached is obvious. We experienced the February 6 earthquake. The TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) had an earthquake plan. It was cancelled because of the Balyoz case. The military could not go to the February 6 earthquake for 3 days. Greece built a wall on the border. Why? Because all our secret plans were published. They should also be tried for espionage."

Other victims of the plot who attended the hearing summarized the following:

Retired Gendarmerie Staff Colonel Hanefi Yıldırım: "My request to intervene was not accepted. Yet I was also tried. My name appears in 500 places in the file. They even blamed the Hrant Dink murder on me. These people knowingly and willingly abused their duties. I want my request to intervene to be accepted."

Retired Staff Colonel Mustafa Önsel: "We listened to Ali Efendi Peksak. He was the duty judge who first arrested me. What a great irony; he talks about fair trial and law. We all live in this country; let me tell you who carries out a coup. 82 percent of the 131 active-duty soldiers whose sentences were upheld were sailors, 14 percent were gendarmerie and airmen. There was only one soldier from the land forces. Coups are an event carried out by land forces. Çetin Doğan left everyone else; he attempted a coup with sailors he didn't even know, whose ranks were lieutenant colonel and major. These figures are enough to show how absurd the Balyoz case is. After Hanefi Yıldırım, I am the person whose name is mentioned the most in the file. Whatever decision comes out of here, these people have already been punished in the conscience of the Turkish Nation."

Retired Rear Admiral Ali Deniz Kutluk: "They sentenced me to 18 years in prison. I spent nearly 4 years of this in prison. I don't know if my name is in the indictment or not; but I am a complainant. I want you to reconsider your decision."

Finally, Ahmet Erdem, one of the complainant lawyers who was tried in the Balyoz plot while he was a military judge, took the floor. Lawyer Erdem, who wants a decision to be made in this case now, said, "The case will be dropped due to the statute of limitations for the crime of misconduct. They are still talking about merging files. Only the accusation of deprivation of liberty remains substantial. Please, let the file be submitted to the prosecutor as soon as possible to present his opinion on the merits and let a decision be made. It has been 4 years. Let it end, sir. There are judges and prosecutors who could be acquitted, let them not be victims; but let the criminals also be punished. As Ergin Saygun Pasha said in the previous session, let us see the result before we die. Otherwise, this case will go until the statute of limitations."

After the statements of the victims, the defendants, who were given the floor again, requested that the words of those whose participation requests were not accepted not be taken into account, and stated that they "returned their statements amounting to insults to them." Reminding that 7 officers were sentenced for "agreement to commit a crime" in the Balyoz case, the defendants accused, "If the prosecutor had appealed not only for 7 people but for all of them, they would also have been tried and convicted. Lawyers like Hüseyin Ersöz have also let it slip that this case was in vain, but they are still telling the same thing."

At the end of the hearing, the Prosecutor, when asked for his opinion, requested the continuation of the arrest warrants for the fugitive defendants, the rejection of the requests for file merging and witness hearing by considering the statute of limitations, that letters be written to prisons to determine how long the names tried in Balyoz remained detained and convicted, and also that an arrest warrant be issued for the non-detained defendant former judge Menekşe Uyar, who did not come to the hearing to provide additional defense despite notification and warning.

After the break, Court President Maruf Alikanoğlu announced that it was decided to issue an arrest warrant for Menekşe Uyar, to reject Mustafa Koç's request to participate, and to write letters to prison directorates to determine the time the complainants remained as detainees/convicts, and that the hearing was adjourned to May 6.

News Source: Müyesser Yıldız