World Bulletin / News Desk

Several civil society organizations in the southeastern province of Gaziantep have launched a criminal complaint against retired Maj. Gen. Osman Özbek for using profanity in his statements about former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan during the Feb. 28 unarmed military intervention in 1997.

Gaziantep Free Will Platform President Vakkas Çevik, Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) Gaziantep branch head Abdurrahim Çelik and representatives from several other such organizations on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against Özbek, former head of the Erzurum Regional Gendarmerie Command over charges that he used profanity in his statements about Erbakan and his family during the coup period.

Özbek allegedly referred to Erbakan as an expletive at a meeting in 1997, but no legal action was taken against him.

Erbakan's conservative Welfare Party (RP) was forced to resign by the military in 1997 on the grounds that there was rising "religious fundamentalism" in the country. Erbakan passed away last year.

Prosecutors are currently carrying out an investigation into the actors of the Feb. 28 coup, which is popularly known as a postmodern coup. Dozens of retired and active-duty military officers have been arrested so far for their role in the coup.

Speaking in front of the Gaziantep Courthouse, Çevik said they launched the criminal compliant against Özbek, hoping that it will make a contribution to the ongoing Feb. 28 case.