MEP responds to acquittal 236 suspects in Balyoz/Sledgehammer case

Dutch Member of European Parliament Marietje Schaake (ALDE) responds to the acquittal of 236 suspects in the infamous Balyoz/Sledgehammer case in Turkey. "Although a mass acquittal is troubling the same way a mass conviction is, I am happy the Balyoz case was revisited and the suspects were acquitted." In the Sledgehammer case, hundreds of army officials were accused of planning a coup against President Erdogan's AK Party government. "Many aspects of this mass trial were reason for serious concern. I have raised these concerns with the EU, NATO and the Turkish government. We must remain vigilant, from the lengthy pre-trial detentions to the chances of fair trial for suspects, and questions about the credibility of evidence. Free trial and the independence of the judiciary must remain a key issue for the EU when assessing Turkey's progress towards EU accession." See also: 25-03-2015 Parliamentary Questions on the Turkish internet bill 18-12-2014 MEP: Business as usual towards Turkey is no longer an option for the EU 28-11-2014 Media (EU Observer): Turkey needs its women, Mr Erdogan 29-10-2014 Written Questions on the export of Netclean technology to Turkey 08-10-2014 Liberal MEP calls for a new EU-Turkey agenda 16-09-2014 Written Question to the Commission concerning internet censorship laws in Turkey 23-04-2014 Letter to Commissioner Füle concerning MIT law in Turkey 21-01-2014 Media: MEP: International investigation into Turkey’s rule of law needed – Today’s Zaman 20-01-2014 MEP: International investigation into Turkey’s rule of law needed