The Politics of Prosecution: Treason Trials of Military Officers in Contemporary Turkey

Based on allegations ranging from forming a terrorist organization within the state to leaking of state secrets for purposes of military espionage and plotting a coup to overthrow the government, mass trials involving hundreds of military officers as defendants marked the past decade of Turkey’s legal scene. Carried under intense public debate and scrutiny, the trials were about something more than merely bringing about justice – they were the eruption of long-suppressed feelings toward the military institution. The irregularities in the legal process were overlooked by many as minor discrepancies that could be ignored for the ultimate cause, and those who were previously victimized by and skeptical of the word of the law now became its ultimate supporters. With the overruling of initial verdicts by the Constitutional Court in 2015, the trials are now seen as blatant violations of due process by the very people who lauded them as a stepping-stone towards the establishment of the rule of law. Through a close reading of court transcripts and indictments as well as interviews with military families on the trial process, this paper will analyze how the court related the soldiers to the allegations and decided on the defendants’ culpability. The paper will also focus on the notion of “political trials,” often used in describing this legal process, reflecting on the question, if the verdict itself is the product of a “political trial,” then what makes the word of the law so dependable and trustworthy in both convicting and acquitting the defendants?