Suspect Turkish Court Rulings

by Stephen Lendman

On Monday, a landmark case ended. It was politically charged. It was suspect from inception. Everyone tried claimed innocence. Of the 275 alleged coup plotters, most were convicted.

In 2007, proceedings began. Only 21 defendants were acquitted. Another 16 were freed. Consideration for time served brought release.

Three opposition MPs got 12 - 35 years in prison. Attorney Kemal Kerincsiz heads Turkey's Great Union of Jurists. He got life imprisonment for doing his job.

So did former First Army commander Gen. Hursit Tolon, former Second Chief of General Staff Gen. Hasan Igsiz, retired Gen Nusret Tasdeler, and retired Col. Fuat Selvi.

Former Gendarmerie Forces commander Sener Eruygur got an aggravated life sentence. Retired Gen. Veli Kucuk received a double one plus 99 years and one month.

Turkey's former military chief of staff, General Ilker Basbug, got life. He and 16 others were charged with violations of Turkish Penal Code Articles 309, 310, and 311.

Ahead of the verdict, Basgug said:

"The 'court' will announce its verdict in an atmosphere that was not even seen in times of martial law, with even families being banned from coming."

"They know they will smear a black stain on the glorious history of the Turkish state and army like never before."

After the verdict, he added:

"My conscience is clear. For those who have been tried under these circumstances, the final say is the people's say. And the people are never wrong and are never deceived."

"Those who have always stood beside the righteous people, beside justice, have a clear conscience. I am one of those people."

Former Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Mustafa Balbay got 34 years, eight months. He's an opposition CHP party member.

He claimed prosecutors fabricated charges. They "conceal(ed) the case from the public," he said. It's "political." It lacks credibility.

Prosecutors claimed defendants were part of a shadowy secularist/neo-nationalist/high-ranking military network. Charges included plotting to oust Prime Minister Erdogan's government. More on that below.

In September 2006, Amnesty International said:

"Unfair trials continue to blight Turkey's human rights record." Its judicial system is tainted. It lacks credibility. Show trials substitute for fair ones.

"One area of concern is criminal proceedings against people charged under anti-terrorism legislation."

They're tried in special Heavy Penal Courts. Unfairness characterizes them. Turkey's judicial process is tainted.

Last September, Turkish courts jailed hundreds of military officers. Alleged coup plotting was charged. The so-called Sledgehammer (Balyoz) case highlighted authoritarian rule.

Cetin Dogan was chief suspect. He's a retired Turkish general. He and two other retired generals got life in prison.

It was later reduced to 20 years. So-called leniency was because "attempting to overthrown the government by force" failed.

Professor Dani Rodrik, Dogan's son-in-law, called evidence against him fabricated.

He and his daughter, Pinar, said "what lies behind the trials is an apparent effort to discredit the government's opponents on the basis of the flimsiest evidence and often, far worse, by framing them with planted evidence and forged documents."

Secret evidence was used. Anonymous sources provided it. Uncorroborated claims lack credibility.

Turkey's more police state than democracy. Sledgehammer justice was scandalously unfair. It reflected Cold War era show trials. It denied justice.

It lacked legitimacy. It reeked of political interference. It showed Turkey's dark side. Its longstanding history reflects unfairness.

Free expression isn't tolerated. Nor is dissent. No country imprisons more journalists than Turkey. Ragip Zarakolu was ruthlessly harassed for years. He's a human rights activist/publisher/Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

He was convicted of various previous charges. They lacked credibility. They included translating Professor Dora Sakayan's book titled "An Armenian Doctor in Turkey. G. Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal of 1922."

In October 2011, he was imprisoned. In April 2012, he was released. He remains vulnerable. So do others like him. Controlling the message is prioritized. Turkey tolerates no dissent.

Authoritarian rule challenges it. State terror is official policy. Judicial fairness is a figure of speech.

On August 5, The New York Times headlined "Turkish Court Hands Down Prison Sentences in Coup Plot," saying:

"(D)ozens of high-ranking military officers, politicians, journalists and others (got) long prisons terms from "a long-running case that captivated the nation for its audacity, laid bare the deep divisions within Turkish society between Islamists and secularists and earned sharp criticism from the international community over issues of judicial fairness."

Besides Basbug and other high-level defendants, 20 journalists were sentenced. Turkey criminalizes truth-telling. Victims are guilty by accusation.

Turkish justice resembles America's. It's like Israel's. Anyone seen potentially challenging state authority is vulnerable.

Police states operate that way. According to The Times:

"The case was initially seen by many as an important move by Mr. Erdogan's government to engineer democratic reforms by taming the military, which has carried out three coups in modern Turkey