Those Who Reported the Coup and the Coup Plotters: Hand in Hand

Brigadier General Ünsal COŞKUN, Commander of The Turkish School of Army Aviation, made striking allegations in his testimony at the 17th High Criminal Court as part of the July 15 trials.

In his testimony, BrigadierGeneral Coşkun stated that approximately one month prior to July 15, a working group, coordinated by retired General and AKP MP Şirin Ünal, informed President Erdoğan that then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar was planning a coup. This working group included retired Gendarmerie ColonelMustafa Önsel, ColonelGüven Şağban (then head of the Intelligence Departmentat the Gendarmerie General Command), and Army Pilot Colonel Mehmet Esat Özormancık (confidential witness code-named Abdullah). Brigadier GeneralÜnsal COŞKUN;

"Confidential witness Abdullah, in his testimony on April 25, 2018, stated that on June 11, 2016, he informed our President for 1 hour and 15 minutes, based on a report in their possession, that Hulusi Akar was planning a coup against him. Although it remains unclear under what authority and with what credentials confidential witness Abdullah (Mehmet Esat Özormancık) made this notification—a notification that intelligence agencies had not made— they requested that this report be submitted to the court as evidence but received no response," he stated.

Brigadier General Coşkun emphasized that, in his statement, confidential witness Abdullah (Mehmet Esat Özormancık) recounted, "That night, I also called Mustafa Önsel. I asked, 'Commander, what are we going to do?' Mustafa Önsel responded, 'It has begun. We are taking up our weapons. We will fight to the last drop, to the last bullet. There is no turning back.'" Brigadier General Coşkun questioned;

"Is the person he referred to as 'Commander, what are we going to do?'—namely Mustafa Önsel—his superior within the Turkish Armed Forces?" He also underlined that in his statement as a complainant, Gendarmerie Colonel Güven Şağban, with whom Mustafa Önsel had dinner on 15 July, stated that he had met with the 2nd Chief of General Staff on 15 July, but it is noteworthy that he did not answer the questions about whether the meeting was within the knowledge of the superiors or the content of the meeting."

Continuing his statement,Brigadier General Coşkun said, "Onthe other hand, Şirin Ünal, the coordinator of the working group that included Mustafa Önsel, also met with the Chief of General Staff on the same day. In other words, the working group that had informed thePresident of an impending coup and Hulusi Akar, who was allegedly planning the coup, had an unplanned meetinglasting nearly two hours on July 15."

Brigadier GeneralCoşkun pointed out that statements used by confidential witness Abdullah (Army Pilot Colonel Mehmet Esat Özormancık), such as “Brother, they’ve started, it’s begun, as I knew who was behind and executing the coup,” indicate not only that the person was aware of the events beforehand but also suggest signs of direct involvement in the planning phase.

He said, “The fact that he could claim I was the executor indicates that he knew who was behind the planning of this operation, and at the very least, that he personally issued or saw the assignment orders. Therefore, as someone accused of being a member of the Peace at Home Council, I was personally curious about the report preparedweeks before July 15, the briefing given to the President, and other relevant details he might know about the planning phase. I believe this issue represents a significant piece of evidence for our case, and I assessthat it is critical for the witnesses to be heard in thisregard.”

It is as intriguing that no action was taken by prosecutors regarding Army Pilot Colonel Mehmet Esat Özormancık's allegations that Hulusi Akar was a coup plotter with connections to the Gülen movement, as it is noteworthy that Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar did not file a criminal complaint against Army Pilot Colonel Mehmet Esat Özormancık, whomade these claims.