Former President and coup leader Kenan Evren indicted

Turkish prosecutors have indicted former Turkish President and Chief of Staff, Gen. Kenan Evren for his role in the 1980 military coup. Gen. Evren and Gen. Tahsin Şahinkaya had been protected by the provisional article 15 of the Turkish constitution that was established after the coup, but with the repeal of the article the path toward the indictment was cleared.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

There is still doubt as to whether the statute of limitations has expired. Counting from the time of the coup, it has, but the prosecutor claims that the deadline should be calculated starting from when the constitution was amended instead.

Some links:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/turkey/120103/turkey-coup-generals-constitution

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204368104577138610045317548.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

In Turkish: http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalDetayV3&ArticleID=1074480&Date=04.01.2012&CategoryID=77