Istanbul high court rejects retrial of Balyoz convicts

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Hürriyet photo

The Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court has rejected the retrial demand of convicts in the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot case.

On Oct. 9, 2013, the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled for the retrial of 88 convicted suspects, while approving the convictions of 237 suspects in the case.

The High Criminal Court has reportedly rejected the request with unanimity, saying no legal reasons were could be found for retrial.

The Balyoz retrials look set to come under particular focus, as the Turkish political agenda has recently been stirred by suggestions that the coup plot cases Ergenekon and Balyoz could be more widely reopened. One of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s advisers recently said there was a “parallel state” within the state that had plotted a “conspiracy on the Turkish army.”

The convicted military officers have long claimed that much of the evidence against them was fabricated.