Turkish Police Detain 10 Retired Admirals Signing Letter On Montreux Convention - Reports

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2021) Turkish police have detained 10 retired admirals who signed the letter in support of the Montreux Convention, which determines the status of Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.

Four more retired admirals who signed the letter were summoned for questioning at the prosecutor's office, Anadolu added.

The open letter, signed by 103 retired Turkish admirals, was released on Sunday. The admirals highlighted the need for Turkey to stay in the Montreux Convention, and stressed that the deal should not be reviewed in light of the Istanbul Canal project, which is intended to ease the Bosphorus Strait traffic and would not be covered by the treaty.

The letter also expressed the need to preserve the current national constitution against the background of calls by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan to develop a new basic law. Apart from that, the retired admirals condemned the Turkish armed forces leadership's departure from "the path outlined [by the founder of the republic] Mustafa Kemal Ataturk."