Erdogan favors retrial of jailed officers
Iran Press TV
Sun Jan 5, 2014 11:32PM GMT
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he favors retrials for hundreds of military officers jailed for allegedly plotting a coup against the government.
'Our position on a retrial is a favourable one,' Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Sunday, but first we must "establish the legal grounding for fresh trials".
Erdogan's statement came following his last week meeting with the head of the Union of Bar Associations, who proposed the retrial of the jailed officers.
The Turkish military has requested a review of the mass trials that put hundreds of officers in prison last year and the year before, saying that some of the evidence against them was faulty.
Erdogan's move has come at a time when his Justice and Development Party has been embroiled in a corruption scandal, which has shaken the country's political establishment.
Twenty-four people, including the sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, and Suleyman Aslan, the head of state-owned Halkbank, have been formally charged with corruption.
Local media have reported that Erdogan's son may face investigation.
On December 25, 2013, the Turkish premier replaced the economy, interior, and environment ministers.
Erdogan denounced the probe as a plot to undermine his government ahead of the local elections in March, adding that the graft allegations against businesspersons and government officials are hindering the economic growth.
In a speech in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan said the corruption scandal was cover for an assassination attempt. 'What they wanted to do was an attempted assassination of the national will."
"They tried to carry out a judicial coup in Turkey.... But we are going to oppose this operation, this December 17 plot that targeted the future, the stability of our country,' he noted.
GJH/HN/AS
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