None save one of the suspects in the Sledgehammer investigation into an alleged coup plot have surrendered to authorities following a warrant issued last Friday for the arrest of all those implicated in the probe. Their lawyers were in court in their stead, appealing against the arrest warrants.

Late Friday night prosecutors conducting the Sledgehammer investigation were able to obtain a court warrant for the arrest of 102 retired and active duty military officers who are suspected of being part of the plot, including retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, the former 1st Army commander. The general is accused of having masterminded a subversive plot known as the Sledgehammer Action Plan that included plans to down Turkish fighter jets and bomb frequently visited mosques during prayer times in an attempt to undermine, and eventually, overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.Doğan was hospitalized shortly after he was detained on Sunday when his blood pressure increased. Meanwhile, lawyers representing retired Gen. Doğan, retired Brig. Gen. Süha Tanyeli and Col. Çiçek have appealed the arrest warrant. The lawyers petitioned the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court yesterday at the Beşiktaş Courthouse in İstanbul.Lawyers representing other defendants in the case also started appealing arrest warrants yesterday. Many others filed requests for a change of judge in the trial. Twenty-seven lawyers, including those of retired Gen. Metin Yavuz Yalçın, retired Gen. Behzat Balta, retired Col. Tuncay Çakan and retired Adm. Özden Örnek, in total appealed the warrants for their clients' arrests and requested a new judge. No other suspects in the case had surrendered or been taken by force into police custody yesterday as of the time Today's Zaman went to print. Gen. Çetin Doğan was arrested twice earlier this year but was later released from prison for health reasons. He was hospitalized shortly after he was detained on Sunday when his blood pressure soared. Arrest warrant legitimateCritics of the Sledgehammer investigation have been questioning the legitimacy of the warrant issued last Friday for the arrest of all the suspects in the probe, arguing that military officers who are included in the warrant are being treated like “fugitives.”Experts, however, say these allegations do not reflect the truth in any way.According to Reşat Petek, a retired chief prosecutor, the arrest warrant issued by the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court is part of a routine procedure frequently used in criminal trials. The warrant is completely legal, with a similar order earlier issued for Col. Dursun Çiçek, the main suspect in the investigation into another document, also allegedly prepared by the military, called the Action Plan to Fight Reactionarysm. Çiçek's signature appears on the document, which details a plan to undermine the AK Party government and frame religious individuals and groups by planting weapons in their buildings.Last week, the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court accepted an indictment on the Sledgehammer case. On Friday the court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant. Under the law, a warrant to arrest a suspect can only be issued by a court upon the request of a public prosecutor. The court issued the warrant on the grounds that the crime of which the suspects are accused is considered to be grave. This was known as “arrest in absentia” in Turkey's former Code on Criminal Procedure (CMUK). Petek said this coincides with Article 100 of the new Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK). “So what the court did in the Sledgehammer investigation was a routine practice. It ruled on the nature of the alleged crime. They didn't use the principle of ‘arrest in absentia,' which is not part of our new code, but ordered a warrant for the arrest of the suspects,” he explained.Procedurally, the court issues the decision and relays the warrant to the prosecution, who then alerts police, who are required by law to arrest and bring the suspect for whom the warrant was issued to court. When the suspect is taken to court, the arrest ruling issued in his/her absence is read out to them by a judge, completing the process. The same procedure was used in the case of Col. Çiçek. There is also an arrest warrant out for Turhan Çömez and Bedrettin Dalan, who are currently abroad and considered fugitives. The two are suspects in the trial of Ergenekon, a criminal group connected to the generals behind the Sledgehammer and Action plans that allegedly plotted to overthrow the government by provoking a military coup.Doğan's surrenderDoğan was detained late Sunday by airport police at Bodrum Airport, from where he was planning to fly to İstanbul. There reportedly was a brief discussion between the police and Doğan's lawyers, who said he was flying to İstanbul to surrender. The police officers, according to reports, spoke with prosecutors in İstanbul and allowed him to board the plane for his flight. Doğan, visibly upset by the episode, asked for his luggage back, saying he would drive to İstanbul; however, his luggage could not be returned as it had already been put on the plane. Doğan then proceeded to board the plane that had been kept waiting for half an hour. The retired general flew to İstanbul in the company of plainclothes officers. After landing, he was driven directly to the İstanbul's Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) for a medical checkup, but the institution referred him to the İstanbul University Çapa Department of Medicine Hospital for high blood pressure. Doğan was kept under medical supervision in the ER unit of the internal diseases and neurology department of the hospital, where he was diagnosed with hypertension, according to his lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz. Ersöz said Doğan had five different angiograms in 2003, speaking to journalists in front of the hospital on Monday. Doğan was eventually transferred to Siyami Ersek Hospital, where he was kept for supervision until Monday. Doğan's lawyer also said his client was suffering from intense chest pain and high blood pressure, adding that his blood test results indicated that he was at risk of a heart attack. 27 July 2010, TuesdayKADIR KÖKTEN  İSTANBU