An Ankara court released three former senior officers who had been jailed and dismissed from the military after their names appeared on a martial law assignment list circulated during Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
The Ankara 19th High Criminal Court ordered the release of former Brig. Gen. Murat Yaygın, former Brig. Gen. Celalettin Çoban and former Rear Adm. Ercan İnceoğlu at a hearing on Wednesday.
All three had been serving at the Ministry of National Defense before the coup attempt.
The case centered on a martial law assignment list attributed to the group behind the coup attempt. Prosecutors said the list showed positions the officers would have held if the attempted military takeover had succeeded.
Yaygın, who was head of personnel at the Ministry of National Defense on July 15, was listed as the future head of the State Personnel Presidency.
Çoban, who headed the ministry’s National Mine Action Center, was listed as the future head of intelligence for the Land Forces Command.
İnceoğlu, who headed the ministry’s General Plan and Principles Department, was allegedly listed for appointment to the Naval Training and Education Command.
The defendants told the court that their names had been included on the list without their knowledge, consent or approval and that they had not gone to the posts assigned to them.
The prosecutor asked the court to release the three officers.
The panel accepted the request, citing the possibility that the legal classification of the accusations could change and the time the defendants had already spent in custody.
The releases came as courts continued to hear cases against officers whose names appeared on martial law lists prepared during the coup attempt.
The lists became a central element in many post-coup trials, with prosecutors treating them as evidence of involvement while defendants argued that being named on a document prepared by others did not prove participation.
