Supreme Court ruling in the Akıncı Base case

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals has completed its appellate review of the verdict rendered by the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court on November 26, 2020, concerning 469 defendants.

Accordingly, the 77 aggravated life sentences each handed down to FETÖ's so-called civilian imams Kemal Batmaz, Hakan Çiçek, Nurettin Oruç, and Harun Biniş, as well as the then-commander of the Incirlik 10th Tanker Base, former Brigadier General Bekir Ercan Van; the then-Head of the Systems Department of the Air Force Command Logistics Presidency, former Brigadier General Recep Sami Özatak; the then-Head of Air Force Intelligence, former Brigadier General Aydemir Taşçı; the then-General Secretary of the Air Force Command, former Colonel Veysel Kavak; the then-Deputy General Secretary of the Air Force Command, former Staff Colonel Ali Durmuş; the then-141st Fleet Commander, former Lieutenant Colonel Hakan Karakuş; the then-143rd Fleet Commander, former Major Mustafa Azimetli; the former pilot Lieutenant Colonel Hasan Hüsnü Balıkçı, who bombed the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM); the base's Operations Planning Officer, former Major Murat Bicil; the former Major Mehmet Fatih Çavur, who conducted the first F-16 flight in Ankara during the coup attempt; the then-143rd Fleet Operations Officer, former Major Ali Karabulut; the former pilot Captain Hüseyin Türk, who bombed the TBMM, TÜRKSAT, and the Police Special Operations Department; and the former captains Mustafa Mete Kaygusuz and Ahmet Tosun, who relayed the bombing instructions to the F-16s, for the crimes of "attempting to abolish the constitutional order," "attempting to assassinate the President," and "qualified intentional killing" of 75 people, have been upheld.

The prison sentences of 3,865 years and 6 months each, given to these defendants for the crimes of "attempted intentional killing" and "deprivation of liberty," were also found to be in accordance with the law.

REVERSAL DECISION FOR 39 DEFENDANTS

The Chamber reversed the 16-year and 8-month prison sentences given to defendants Ertuğrul Cihat Sungur, Ali Mert Tüfekçi, Hakan Doğan, Raif Can Dursun, Yıldırım Kılıçarslan, and Uluç Hüseyin Hançer for "aiding in the attempt to abolish the constitutional order," as well as the 10-year prison sentences given for "deprivation of liberty" on the grounds that they detained certain commanders. It was stated that the actions of these defendants did not fall under the scope of "aiding a crime" and that they should be punished as "principal perpetrators."

The verdicts regarding defendants Necip Yılmaz, Burak Deniz, Zafer Güner, Harun Eraslan, İbrahim Mesut Yılmaz, Ferhat Akbulut, Hamza Aras, and Emre Ateş, who were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment for the same charges, were also reversed, with the statement that these defendants should be punished as "perpetrators."

The Chamber also decided to reverse the verdict regarding 17 defendants who were given fixed-term prison sentences for "membership in an armed terrorist organization," as well as the 9-year prison sentence given to former Konya 3rd Main Jet Base Commander Major General Haluk Şahar for "membership in an armed terrorist organization," on the grounds that the verdict was established as a result of incomplete investigation.

The Chamber issued a reversal decision for one defendant who had been acquitted by the local court, on the grounds that a retrial should be conducted for the crime of "membership in an armed terrorist organization."

The verdict regarding defendant Fatih Aydemir, who was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, was also reversed. Pointing out that the defendant did not come to the Akıncı Base on the day of the incident and was punished for his actions outside, the Chamber stated that a lawsuit should be filed against Aydemir regarding these actions and a verdict should be established based on the outcome.

The aggravated life sentence given to former Brigadier General Cemal Akyıldız, who was the then-Kayseri 12th Air Transportation Base Commander, was reversed with the statement that the defendant should be punished for the crime of "membership in an armed terrorist organization."

It was decided to reverse the verdict regarding defendant Serdar Gülbaş, who served as the Logistics Chief at the Air Force Command with the rank of major general at the time of the incident and was sentenced to life imprisonment at the end of the trial, on the grounds that it was established as a result of incomplete investigation.

The verdicts regarding defendants Kemal Mutlum, Ercan Dağhan, and Recep Baykal, who were determined to have passed away during the appeal stage of the file, were also reversed.

UPHELD VERDICTS

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the decisions of the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court regarding the dismissal of public cases against defendants Mustafa Altunay and Fatih Arslan.

The 3 "aggravated life" sentences each given to former pilot Captain İlhami Aygül and former first lieutenants Mehmet Yurdakul and Mustafa Özkan, who bombed the Ankara Police Department and martyred 2 people, as well as the fixed-term prison sentences of over 600 years each for "attempted intentional killing," were upheld.

The 8 aggravated life sentences each given to former pilot Captain Ertan Koral and First Lieutenant Mehmet Çetin Kaplan, who martyred 7 police officers at the General Directorate of Security Aviation Department, for the crimes of "intentional killing" and "attempting to violate the constitutional order" were also upheld. The 8 aggravated life sentences for former pilot Staff Captain Ekrem Aydoğdu, who was determined to have marked the department with a laser pod for bombing, were also upheld.

It was also decided to uphold the 16 aggravated life sentences given to former pilot First Lieutenant Müslim Macit, who bombed the Presidential Complex Junction and martyred 15 people.

The 45 aggravated life sentences given to the coup-plotting former pilot Hüseyin Türk, who was sentenced to 77 aggravated life sentences, and former pilot Captain Uğur Uzunoğlu, who bombed the Police Special Operations Department with the same aircraft, as well as the 2 aggravated life sentences each given to defendants Oğuz Alper Emrah and İlker Hazinedar, were also upheld.

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals also decided to uphold the convictions of other defendants sentenced for various crimes by the local court, as well as the acquittal verdicts for some defendants.

News Source: AA