COUP PLANS

The Istanbul Public Attorney General sent a writ to the Military Prosecutor's Office on 2 November to summon Naval Staff Colonel Dursun Çiçek for his statement about the "Action Plan against Reactionary Forces". Çiçek supposedly signed the document.

After the writ Çiçek has to testify to the prosecutor's office within 10 days. If he does not appear within this period of time he will be issued a compelling subpoena.

Taraf: Prosecutor wants Çiçek and 5 private soldiers

Taraf newspaper initially published the news about the plan supposed to discredit the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the religious movement led by Fethullah Gülen in June. In September the original document was sent to the Istanbul Public Attorney General. After that the Forensic Medicine Institute identified the plan as an original prepared by Dursun Çiçek.

As reported by Taraf yesterday (3 November), despite the Istanbul Attorney General's application the General Staff Legal Advisory did neither sent Çiçek nor the 5 privates who supposedly witnessed the destruction of the documents with classified notes.

According to the daily, the General Staff insisted on obtaining the original document but the prosecutors denied this request: "The prosecutor's office sees an imminent risk of losing the document and drew attention to the fact that the investigation is carried out by the prosecutor's office itself, so it will certainly not accept this request".

The Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) Gaziantep Branch filed a criminal complaint regarding the "coup plan" at the Gaziantep Prosecutor's Office.

Zaman: If he does not come he will be issued an arrest warrant

Zaman newspaper reported that an arrest warrant will be issued for Çiçek if he will not have given his statement till coming Friday.

The daily indicates that Çiçek has resisted to the judiciary for almost 3 weeks now and reported about a protest march on 1 November in Istanbul's central district of Beyoğlu organized by DİSP, Genç Siviller ('Young Civilians'), the Say No to Racism and Nationalism Group and the Green Party.

During the protest march dancer Zeynep Tanbay said, "İlker Başbuğ, who announced for Çiçek's defence that the document is a fraud, is first of all responsible for this coup attempt which was prepared in confinement".

Milliyet: subpoena with a "warning"

Milliyet daily's headline was "Subpoena for Çiçek sent to TSK" (Turkish Armed Forces). According to the newspaper, Çiçek's notification included a warning; though Çiçek's lawyer said he did not receive such a notification.

Hürriyet: Criminal complaint about Forensic Medicine

Hürrüyet newspaper refers to lawyer Serdar Öztürk who stated that the action plan was found in his office. Öztürk is a detained defendant of the Ergenekon case. Due to Hürriyet he filed a complaint about the Forensic Medicine specialists who confirmed that the document was signed by Çiçek.

What was the plan?

The "executive" section of the document was aimed at "making an end to activities for a religious formation, especially AKP (ruling Justice and Development Party) and the Gülen Movement, which both imagine to overthrow the secular order and establish an Islamic state".

The plan was reported to have been prepared by the General Staff Operations Presidency 3rd Support Branch Directorate, formerly known as the Psychology Military Office. The military prosecutor saw no legal grounds for prosecution after it had determined that the document had not been prepared at the General Staff. The Kadıköy Prosecutor's Office (Istanbul) is carrying out an investigation on grounds of the news item initially published in Taraf. It was reported that the General Staff Communication Department Presidency has "opened a court case against a journalist". (EÖ/VK)