Military Courts Should Stay Out of Civilian Jurisdiction
As Turkey discusses an "Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism" allegedly devised by the General Staff's Operations Department, jurists have been pointing out attempts by military courts to expand their jurisdiction, hijacking authority in spheres normally entrusted to civilian courts.
In recent times, military prosecutors have launched many investigations into civilians, and the gendarmerie has conducted operations in areas that normally fall under the jurisdiction of the police. Jurists say that military courts are intervening in spheres that should normally be handled by the civilian judiciary.
The “action plan” treats areas that fall under civilian jurisdiction as falling under the authority of the military. The report plans to organize “raids into the Gülen religious community's Işik [Light] Houses, which will be conducted under the scope of military crimes,” and ensure that ammunition and arms are found in these houses to make the community look like a terrorist organization.
However, Ahmet Gündel, a former chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, says individuals who fall under civilian jurisdiction cannot be investigated under the category of “military crimes.” “This has nothing to do with military crimes. As long as arms are found, civilian authorities investigate this. At that moment, they will be referring to that group as an ‘armed terrorist organization,' which is the real purpose. This is a plot that was devised in the name of the state by state officials. The ‘deep state' has been caught red-handed,” Gündel said.
Gündel also recalled that the Supreme Court of Appeals has already acquitted Gülen and his movement in a trial where he faced charges of having established an unarmed terrorist organization. “The effort to push it back into the category of a terrorist organization is obviously there. If they can do that, they can hit many birds with one stone. First, they will weaken the Gülen movement and then lay the grounds for the closure of the Justice and Development Party [AK Party].”
Attempts to expand judicial scope
In the past few months, a number of cases that normally would have to be investigated by civilian prosecutors were hijacked by military prosecutors. In Ankara, a few weeks ago, a search carried out under a warrant from a military prosecutor was conducted in a house in Demetevler. A computer was seized by military investigators. Later, it was discovered that the search was carried out as part of an investigation into an insulting e-mail sent to a general serving in the Air Forces' Kayseri 2nd Air Supply Command. In another incident, a General Staff prosecutor gave permission to wiretap the owner of the Taraf daily. A military prosecutor issued a warrant to “bring the person” using a particular cell phone number to the military prosecutor's office. Jurists have said the limit of the jurisdiction of military courts is clearly drawn out under Article 9 of the Military Courts Establishment and Trying Procedures Law No. 353.
A similar argument occurred when two retired generals, Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon, were detained for the first time under the Ergenekon investigation. Some prosecutors claimed that because the two are retired generals, they should be prosecuted by military courts. However, the prosecutors conducting the Ergenekon investigation stated that under Articles 312 and 314 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), attempted coups d'état fall under the jurisdiction of civilian courts.
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