In the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation regarding the so-called declaration of 104 retired navy admirals, Ergun Mengi was released under judicial control after he was referred to the court with a request for arrest late Monday.
The testimony of 10 admirals, who were detained for signing the so-called declaration, has ended.
It was reported that Admiral Ergun Mengi was sent to the Criminal Court on Duty with the request for an arrest.
Judicial control was requested for 13 other retired admirals.
After Turkey’s decision last month to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women, with a presidential decree, it came into question whether Turkey could withdraw from other international agreements the same way. In a TV interview, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said that technically it is possible and gave the example of The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits. Following discussions about Şentop’s statements, 104 retired admirals released a statement warning the government.
“We are of the opinion to refrain from any kind of rhetoric or action that could make the Montreux Convention … a matter of controversy,” they said.
The Montreux Convention is a 1936 agreement that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles and regulates the transit of naval warships. The convention guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in times of peace and restricts the passage of naval ships that do not belong to littoral Black Sea states. Signed on July 20, 1936, at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland, the convention gives Turkey permission to remilitarize the Bosporus and Dardanelles. It went into effect on Nov. 9, 1936, and was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on Dec. 11, 1936.
