Navy officer released in Balyoz trials

An Istanbul court ordered yesterday the release of a Navy officer who was arrested as part of the “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) trials but Lt. Cmdr. Cem Çağlar will continue to remain in prison pending trial over other accusations.

The court delegation accepted a plea by Çağlar’s lawyer Ali Fahir Kayacan for the release of his client who was arrested Sept. 22 on the charge of attempting to “topple and obstruct the government by coercion.” However, the court banned Çağlar from traveling broad.

Çağlar will continue to remain behind bars despite the ruling, as he was also jailed pending trial in connection with certain documents seized from the Gölcük Naval Command.

Col. Sencer Başat became the first officer to be released pending trial in the Sledgehammer case last week. The total number of suspects arrested within the scope of the investigation now stands at 55.

Sledgehammer is an alleged military coup plot against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) drafted in 2003.

According to the allegations, the military planned drastic measures to foment unrest in the country in order to remove the AKP from power. Those measures included bombing two popular mosques in Istanbul.