Officer's oath taken to court: Lieutenant dismissed from the TAF begins legal battle

Successful lieutenants Ebru Eroğlu, İzzet Talip Akarsu, Serhat Gündar, Deniz Demirtaş, and Batuhan Gazi Kılıç, who recited the Officer's Oath and shouted "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" at the Military Academy Graduation Ceremony on August 30, 2024, were dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces on charges of indiscipline.

Three officers who served as 'duty commanders' at the same ceremony were also expelled from the army.

Following the decision, which drew widespread public reaction, Lieutenant Serhat Gündar initiated a legal battle.

Gündar filed a lawsuit at the Ankara 20th Administrative Court for a stay of execution and the annulment of the dismissal decision.

''IT DOESN'T EVEN FILL A FIG SEED''

According to the report by Tarık Işık from Nefes, one of Gündar's lawyers, Namık Öztürk, explained the events and stated that the dismissal decision was baseless.

Öztürk stated, "On the evening of August 29, while the lieutenants were celebrating among themselves, the second in the class, Mevlüt Karabacak, had the Officer's Oath recited. The top of the class, Lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu, reacted to this situation. Lieutenant Serhat said, 'She should have been the one to recite the oath.' It is inconceivable to derive a 'plan' from these words. The case doesn't even fill a fig seed," he said.

Serhat Gündar, stating that the process has been difficult for him and his family, said, "Various threats were made against us. My family and the institution I served remained silent about these. My greatest sorrow will be not being able to provide the service for which I was trained."