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Ten years have passed since FETÖ's coup attempt in Turkey
Members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) attempted a coup on the night of July 15, 2016, using their networks within the Turkish Armed Forces. The uprising, suppressed by the public taking to the streets and the intervention of security forces, left a dark stain on Turkey's history.
On the night of July 15, 2016, the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) launched a coup attempt against the Republic of Turkey through its members infiltrated into the Turkish Armed Forces. The group, which organized under the guise of a religious community and penetrated critical state institutions, had long been preparing for this action.
FETÖ's coup plans were shaped in meetings chaired by the group's so-called Turkish Armed Forces imam Adil Öksüz at a villa in Ankara's Konutkent district. Held between July 6-9, 2016, these meetings were attended by civilian imams Hakan Çiçek, Nurettin Oruç, Harun Biniş, and Kemal Batmaz, who were later captured at Akıncı Air Base—the hub of the coup attempt—along with numerous high-ranking military officers. The group's ringleader, Fetullah Gülen, had earlier made an indirect call for a coup in a speech on March 19, 2016.
The planned coup time was changed following a last-minute tip-off. After authorities acted on a report from a pilot major at the Army Aviation Command to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the coup plotters were forced to move the operation from 3:00 a.m. on July 16 to 8:30 p.m. on July 15.
Acting on orders from Akıncı Air Base, the coup plotters first headed to the General Staff headquarters. Thirty-three maroon berets selected from the Special Forces Command moved to the headquarters to detain Chief of General Staff General Hulusi Akar in his office. Coup plotter Major General Mehmet Dişli informed Akar of the coup, but when he failed to persuade him, the order was given to forcibly detain Akar.
During the coup attempt, Bülent Aydın, a non-commissioned officer serving as the bodyguard of Land Forces Commander General Salih Zeki Çolak, was martyred by the coup plotters at the General Staff headquarters, becoming the first martyr of July 15. The coup plotters issued fake orders via the General Staff Message and Document Distribution System (MEDAS) to mobilize military units across the country and seize critical points and public institutions.
As F-16 fighter jets took off from Akıncı Air Base and flew low over Ankara, soldiers closed the Boğaziçi and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges in Istanbul. Coup plotter former Lieutenant Colonel Ümit Gençer occupied the TRT building and had the coup declaration read out. Then-Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced on television that the government was in charge and that the coup plotters would pay the price.
At 00:24, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan connected to CNN Türk and made his historic call urging the nation to take to the streets. This call became the most critical moment that changed the course of the coup attempt. Despite the public flooding the streets, helicopters under the coup plotters' control opened fire on civilians gathered in front of the Gendarmerie General Command, killing nine people. Coup pilots bombed the Ankara Police Department building.
However, thanks to the resolute stance of the Turkish nation and the selfless struggle of the security forces, the coup attempt was completely suppressed by the morning of July 16. A total of 253 citizens were martyred in the process. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office immediately launched an investigation into the coup attempt.
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