Two more life sentences for members of the so-called Peace at Home Council

Report: Müyesser Yıldız

In the General Staff 'Main Case' retried following the Supreme Court of Appeals' partial reversal decision, 17 defendants, primarily Akın Öztürk, who is identified as a member of the so-called Peace at Home Council (Yurtta Sulh Konseyi), were sentenced to two additional life sentences and 16 years in prison each. Meanwhile, two defendants who had previously been acquitted of certain charges but convicted of membership in a terrorist organization were sentenced for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and were arrested in the courtroom upon the verdict.

At the beginning of the trial involving 139 defendants, 4 of whom are fugitives, held at the Sincan Prison Complex by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court, the presiding judge recalled that they had decided to announce the verdict on July 10, but had postponed the hearing to today due to the requests of the lawyers and road closures caused by the NATO Summit, before asking for the final statements of the 7 defendants who were not in detention and had not yet provided their final words.

Among these defendants, former Major Okan Kurt, who had previously been acquitted of all charges, stated, "I neither participated in nor assisted in the treacherous coup attempt of July 15. I am not a member of FETÖ. I am innocent, I am guiltless, I am a victim," and requested his acquittal.

Former Major Murat Pekgüler, who had also been previously acquitted of the charge of "violating the constitution" but sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison for membership in an armed terrorist organization, said the following while crying:

"I was appointed to the General Staff Group Support Command in 2016. I worked for 10 days. The coup happened on my first shift. I am not a member of any terrorist organization, nor have I committed any crime. I was accused of espionage in the past. My life has been spent fighting terrorism, and here I am being tried like a terrorist. I am innocent; I am a victim both materially and morally."

After a one-hour break, the presiding judge announced the decisions reached unanimously.

Accordingly, Murat Pekgüler was sentenced to 12 life sentences for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and for the intentional killing of numerous victims, as well as a total of 244 years in prison for the crimes of attempted intentional killing and deprivation of liberty.

Okan Kurt was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison for aiding in the attempt to overthrow the constitutional order.

With these rulings, both individuals were arrested in the courtroom.

In accordance with the Supreme Court of Appeals' mandate, the 17 defendants—Akın Öztürk, Ahmet Özçetin, Bilal Akyüz, Cemil Turhan, Erhan Caha, Fırat Alakuş, Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş, Hakan Evrim, Kubilay Selçuk, Mehmet Dişli, Mehmet Partigöç, Muhsin Kutsi Barış, Murat Koçyiğit, Orhan Yıkılkan, Osman Kılıç, Ömer Faruk Harmancık, and Sinan Sürer—who were previously sentenced to 141 aggravated life sentences each and identified as members of the so-called Peace at Home Council, were sentenced to two additional life sentences for the intentional killing of victims İsmail Kefal and Şükrü Bayrakçı, and 16 years in prison each for the attempted intentional killing of İhsan Çağ.

For the crime of "killing to facilitate the commission of a crime" against Yusuf Çelik, 66 defendants were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, and 7 defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Former Lieutenant Colonel Levent Türkkan, the aide-de-camp to the then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "political and military espionage."

News Source: Müyesser Yıldız