The Turkish Defense Ministry has filed a criminal complaint against several people, including retired military personnel, for posting the names of 20 service members killed in the recent crash of a C-130 transport aircraft before the government had released any official information.
The investigation concerns social media posts published on November 11, shortly after a Turkish Air Force C-130 went down near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border. The crash killed all personnel on board and scattered debris across a wide area in eastern Georgia. Search teams were still working at the site when the names began circulating online.
The defense ministry normally releases the identities of military fatalities only after families are notified. Officials said the premature posts violated that process and caused distress to relatives trying to confirm what had happened.
Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, the ministry’s spokesperson, announced the complaint at a weekly briefing in Ankara on Thursday. He said some of those who had posted the names were retired members of the armed forces and that the ministry has barred them from entering officers clubs and other military social facilities.
The ministry did not specify the charges but said the complaint had been submitted to prosecutors.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing. Most of the aircraft’s wreckage has been brought to Turkey for inspection at a military maintenance facility in the central city of Kayseri, and technicians have begun analyzing the flight recorders. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said reviewing the data will take at least two months.
Officials have not reported any evidence of hostile action. The C-130 disappeared from radar without sending a distress signal and broke apart before hitting the ground, according to statements from Turkish and Georgian authorities.