İbrahim Fırtına

Halil İbrahim Fırtına (* 1941 in Ordu , Ordu Province ) is a former Turkish General of the Air Force (Hava Kuvetleri) , who was last commander of the Air Force between 2003 and 2005 .

Life

Promotion to general and commander of the air force

After attending school, Fırtına began officer training at the Air Force School ( Hava Harp Okulu ) , which he completed in 1962. After graduating from the pilot school (Uçuş Okulu) in 1964, he found use in various units of the air force and graduated from 1970 to 1972 the Air Force Academy (Hava Harp Akademisi ). Then he was a pilot and later a training officer of the 9th Air Force Base in Balıkesir belonging 192th Squadron and then a lecturer at the Air Force Academy. After further assignments as deputy commander of the 8th Air Force Base in Diyarbakır belonging 184th Squadron, he was Air Force Attaché at the Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn . After his return he worked as a consultant for personnel development courses in the personnel training department at the headquarters of the Air Force and then head of the operations department at the headquarters of the 4th Air Force Base on the Akıncı military airfield .

In 1989 Fırtına was promoted to Brigadier General (Tuğgeneral) and initially took over the post as commander of the 4th Air Force Base (4th Ana Jet Üs Komutanlığı) and then in 1991 as a defense attaché at the embassy in the USA . After his promotion to major general (Tümgeneral) in 1993 he became head of the logistics department at the headquarters of the air force and then in 1995 deputy commander of the 1st Tactical Air Force Command responsible for Western Turkey (1st Tactics Hava Kuvveti Komutan) in Eskişehir .

Fırtına was promoted to lieutenant general (co- general ) in 1997 and was initially deputy commander of the military academies and commander of the air force academy and then, in 1999, commander of the 1st Tactical Air Force Command and commander of the 6th Combined Air Operations Center ( CAOC ) of NATO in Eskişehir.

With effect from August 30, 2001, Fırtına was promoted to General (Orgeneral) and took over from General Nahit Şenoğul as Commander of the Military Academies (TSK Harp Akademileri Komutanı) , before he succeeded General Cumhur Asparuk as Commander of the Air Force on August 30, 2003 (Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı) was. He held this post for two years until he retired on August 25, 2005, after which General Faruk Cömert became his successor. He had already replaced him on August 21, 2003 as commander of the military academies.

Accused in the Ergenekon and Balyoz trials

Fırtına was a suspect in the course of the so-called Ergenekon and Balyoz investigations. In an article in the daily Taraf on January 20, 2010 by Mehmet Baransu, Yıldıray Oğur and Yasemin Çongar it was alleged that the aim of the group was to overthrow the 58th government of the Republic of Turkey , which was in office from November 18, 2002 to March 14, 2003 . The plan is said to have been worked out in the staff of the 1st Army . Dozens of generals and officers were arrested. On September 21, 2012, the Tenth Grand Chamber for Serious Crimes in Istanbul delivered its verdict at the 108th session of the trial known as Balyoz (Sledgehammer). Of the 365 defendants, 250 of them in custody, 81 became more difficult in life under Article 147 of the old Turkish Criminal Law (TSG) with the number 765 because of an attempt to prevent the government of the Turkish Republic from exercising its office by force Sentenced to prison. The sentences against the main defendants Çetin Doğan , Özden Örnek and İbrahim Fırtına were reduced to 20 years imprisonment according to Article 61/1 of the old TSG.

On June 19, 2014, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey found that the rights of the accused had been violated in these trials and ordered the immediate release of the accused. On March 31, 2015, all 236 suspects were acquitted. Previously used evidence was found to be falsified. On April 21, 2016, the Supreme Court overturned the entire Ergenekon trial and the 275 convictions, on the grounds that the existence of the alleged Ergenekon conspiracy, which sought to overthrow then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had not been proven during the trial and that the law of defense has not been respected.

Fırtına is married to Melahat Fırtına and has two children. In addition to Turkish, he also speaks English . For his services he was honored with the Medal of the Turkish Armed Forces for Outstanding Services (Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Üstün Hizmet Madalyası) and the Medal of Honor of the Turkish Armed Forces (Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Şeref Madalyası) . In addition, he was awarded the Medal of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany , the Tong II Medal of the Order for National Security of the Republic of Korea , the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the Order of Nishan-e-Imtiaz of Pakistan .

Web links

• Entry on the Air Force homepage (page accessed on August 31, 2016)
• Entry in Kim Kimdir? (Who is who?)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} TURKEY Suspected coup leads to arrests. Die Welt , accessed on February 28, 2010 . 
2. ^ Coup plans in Turkey: Half a revolution. The time , accessed February 28, 2010 . 
3. ↑ Coup plans, arrests, crisis summit. Deutschlandradio , accessed on February 28, 2010 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} See the German monthly report of the Democratic Turkey Forum (DTF) for September 2012 or a detailed report in Turkish in the daily newspaper Radikal of September 21, 2012 ; Accessed on September 22, 2012
5. ↑ Flaş! Balyozda tüm sanıklara tahliye! . In: Milliyet of June 19, 2014
6. ↑ Case "Balyoz": Court overturns verdict against more than 200 coup suspects . In: German-Turkish News from April 1, 2015
7. ^ Doğan News Agency: 236 acquitted in Balyoz coup case . Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
8. ↑ Supreme Court of Appeal in Turkey receives judgments in Ergenekon trial . In: Yahoo news of April 21, 2016