A court in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Tuesday morning ordered the release of the 14 retired admirals who have been in detention for more than a week because of a letter signed by a total of 104 former admirals urging the Turkish government not to leave the Montreux Convention.
The international convention, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has suggested it might quit, governs the use of the Turkish Straits – the Dardanelles and Bosporus, strategic waterways that connect the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
The admirals were initially accused by the authorities of plotting a coup. Although the Ankara court ordered their release, they are not allowed to leave the city in which they reside and are banned from travelling abroad.
One of the admirals, Cem Gurdeniz, told media after he was released that he welcomed the ruling and described the incident as “an accident of communication”.
“We thank the Turkish police and justice system,” Gurdeniz said.
The retired admirals signed the letter on April 4 after Erdogan’s government announced its plans to build a new canal next to the Bosporus and consider a possible withdrawal from the Montreux Convention.
“The Montreux [Convention] is the main document of the security of the countries in the Black Sea, and it makes it a sea of peace,” the ex-admirals said.
The statement, also backed by retired diplomats and lawmakers, called on the government to stop the huge Canal Istanbul project, which will create a new artificial waterway only 30 kilometres from the Bosporus.
Erdogan’s government voiced fury over the statements and accused the critics of fomenting a coup.
Prosecutors said the admirals were being investigated for conspiring to commit “a crime against state security and constitutional order”.
On April 7, however, Erdogan appeared to row back a little from the threat to withdraw from the convention.
Turkey will be committed to the Montreux Convention “until it finds a better one,” he said.
“If a need arises in the future, we won’t hesitate to review any convention to give our country a better future,” he added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has also said that the implementation of the Istanbul Canal project does not mean that Turkey would abandon the Montreux Convention.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have spoken to Erdogan on Friday about the importance of preserving the Montreux Convention regime on access to the Black Sea, in order to ensure regional security.
The 1936 convention gives Turkey full control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles and regulates the transit of trade ships and naval warships.
