Colonels Associaited with Major Trials Disposed

The Gendarmerie General Command changed the posts of regiment commanders of 40 different provinces, among the disposed commanders are detained colonels Kayseri Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Cemal Temizöz and Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Recep Gençoğlu.

As reported by Habertürk newspaper, the referring announcement made by the commandership came as a surprise since it had not been expected before the coming month. The 40 provinces affected by the appointment of new commanders include the Konya Provincial Gendarmerie Command previously lead by General Staff Colonel Hüseyin Özçoban, defendant of the "Sledgehammer Coup Plan" case; the Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie headed by Ergenekon case defendant Colonel Recep Gençoğlu and the Kayseri Regiment lead by Colonel Temisöz who is held responsible for more than ten extrajudicial killings in the South-East.

Some of the newly appointed commanders still have the rank of a lieutenant colonel; some of them will be promoted to the rank of a colonel on 30 August.

According to Habertürk, the appointments were mainly effected "due to the end of the term on duty" and thus a normal procedure.

Colonel Cemal Temizöz

Cemal Temizöz is held responsible for 23 extrajudicial killings that happened in the region around Şırnak between 1993 and 1995. He is facing a nine counts life sentence without parole. Temizöz is one of seven defendants tried at the Diyarbakır 6^th High Criminal Court. He was detained on 25 March 2009 when he was Commander of the Kayseri Provincial Generarmerie Regiment. Colonel Temizöz is detained in the Diyarbakır 7^th Army Corps Military Prison.

Colonel Recep Gençoğlu

Eskişehir Provincial Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Recep Gençoğlu is a detained defendant of the case regarding the Ergenekon structure in Erzincan. Gençoğlu was arrested upon the directive of the Erzurum Special Authorization Publich Prosecutor on 27 January 2010 and released pending trial on 31 January. He was re-arrested on 3 February. Colonel Gençoğlu was taken to the military prison in Erzurum on 5 February.

Colonel Hüseyin Özçoban

Konya Provincial Gendarmerie Commander General Staff Colonel Hüseyin Özçoban was among the 18 military officers detained in the second wave of arrests related to the "Sledgehammer" investigation.

The so-called "Sledgehammer Operation Plan" mentioned Özçoban as the team commander of planned bombings of mosques in Fatih and Beyazit (Istanbul). Özçoban was detained in the Hasdal Military Prison under allegations of "membership of an armed illegal organization and the attempt to overthrow the constitutional order". He was released on 31 March. (EÖ/VK)