Lieutenants at the Courthouse

Müyesser YILDIZ

12punto.com.tr

Five lieutenants, who were dismissed from the TSK by a majority vote of the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board for reciting the Officer's Oath and crossing their swords while chanting "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" after the official portion of the 2024 Military Academy graduation ceremony, testified today at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The testimony follows a criminal complaint filed against them by five YDK members who voted for their dismissal, alleging "insult and slander." The lieutenants stated that they had exercised their constitutional right to file a complaint following public allegations that board members were pressured during the voting process, and noted that the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had decided not to process their application without conducting any investigation. They emphasized that their complaint was not made with the intent to slander or insult.

The lieutenants—Ebru Eroğlu, İzzet Talip Akarsu, Batuhan Gazi Kılıç, Serhat Gündar, and Deniz Demirtaş—who were called to testify as part of an investigation launched following the criminal complaint filed by the five board members nine months ago, went to the Ankara Courthouse today with their lawyers, Demet Reçber Öztürk and Serdar Öztürk, to provide their statements individually.

According to the information obtained, the lieutenants recalled that following allegations in journalist Ersin Eroğlu's book, "Lieutenants - The Codes of the New TSK," that board members' votes were changed due to pressure, their lawyers had applied to the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on September 7, 2025, to investigate these claims. They noted that this application was rejected on the grounds that it was "not supported by concrete evidence," and summarized their defense as follows:

"Our complaint petition, which is the subject of this investigation today, is not abstract, nor was it written with the intent to slander or insult. The basis of our petition consists of articles and comments found in open sources. Furthermore, we drew attention to the promotion, assignment, and retirement status of the members who voted for and against us in the board after this process. We learned from open sources that those who voted against us were assigned to good positions, while those who voted in our favor were assigned to passive roles or retired. Additionally, allegations had surfaced that Artillery School Commander Major General A.İ. had pressured the officer company commander regarding performance ratings. We do not know the Land Forces Commander or the YDK members. Therefore, we cannot have any hostility toward them. We simply exercised our right to file a complaint as guaranteed by the Constitution."

THE STORY OF THE CASE

The background of the investigation launched upon the criminal complaint of the five YDK members who voted for the dismissal of the lieutenants is as follows:

Following the allegation that members were pressured to vote against the lieutenants—a claim included in journalist Ersin Eroğlu's book published in June 2025 and also brought to the agenda by journalist Barış Terkoğlu—the lieutenants' lawyers filed a criminal complaint in September 2025 with the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the then-Land Forces Commander, current Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, and other suspects to be identified. The complaint included charges of "misconduct in office, destruction, concealment, or alteration of official documents, abuse of official influence, and burning of military documents, papers, maps, and figures."

The lawyers pointed out that these allegations were not denied by military sources and that members who voted in favor of the lieutenants were forced into retirement or had their duty stations changed. They requested that the statements of the relevant board members be taken, that the summary decision minutes—which should have been prepared immediately after the meeting—be obtained, and that the relevant clerical staff be heard if necessary to investigate these claims.

However, one month later, the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a "non-prosecution" decision, stating that "as a result of the examination and evaluation, it was observed that the allegations put forward in the petition were based on general narratives, press reports, and the statements of an author of a book, and that the narratives regarding 'votes being changed' or 'some members being promoted' were not supported by concrete evidence."

Following this decision by the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the lawyer for the five members who voted for the lieutenants' dismissal filed a criminal complaint against the lieutenants, alleging that they had committed the crimes of "publicly insulting and slandering public officials working as a board due to their duties." It was noted that the criminal complaint did not mention journalist Ersin Eroğlu's book at all, as if the lieutenants themselves had voiced these claims, stating: "The statements in question were not limited to the suspects' petition and were disseminated to internet users via newspapers, TV, and web publications by being reflected in the press." It was also noted that the application made to the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was interpreted as "committing the crime of slander by filing a report or complaint to the authorities authorized to conduct investigations."

News Source: 12punto