Sledgehammer coup plot case digital data to be reexamined: Court

A new board of experts from Istanbul Technical University will reexamine the digital data in the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot case, according to an interim court ruling.

The previous expert reports on digital data in the case were rejected by the Anatolian 4th Heavy Penalty Court in Istanbul, and a new board of experts will reexamine the data.

The court reached an interim decision rejecting the current digital data expert reports upon the suspects’ demand.

Three new experts from Istanbul Technical University have been given two months to examine the digital data and present their expert reports.

The retrial of the Balyoz case began on Nov. 3, after the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that the convicted suspects’ rights were violated concerning “digital data and the defendants’ testimonies.”

The retrial started with the hearing of retired former Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök and former Land Forces Commander Gen. Aytaç Yalman as witnesses. In the hearing, Özkök said the coup rumors were “not serious” during his testimony, while Yalman said he had no knowledge of the Balyoz coup plot at the time it is alleged to have been planned.