Akar's former chief of staff: 'Who is the general Michael Flynn spoke to on July 15?'

Ramazan Gözel, a former staff colonel who served as the chief of staff to then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar during the July 15 coup attempt, recalled that former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had stated he spoke with a “general friend” that night, asking, “The question is; who did he speak with?” Gözel also noted that while he was accused of being called by the CHP chief of staff that night, he pointed out that the MHP chief of staff had also called.

The trial of 14 defendants, whose files regarding the July 15 injuries were separated after it was understood they were not members of the so-called Peace at Home Council, continued.

In the case heard by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison Complex, Ramazan Gözel, Hulusi Akar's former chief of staff—one of the individuals for whom the prosecutor requested acquittal in their final opinion—presented his defense.

Noting that he has been saying the same things for 10 years since his arrest on July 17 and is tired of repeating them, but that he is presenting his defense solely to contribute to the revelation of the truth about July 15, Gözel emphasized that despite the message “Do not talk about Hulusi Akar,” he is sharing what he knows as someone who knows him well and will continue to do so.

“The First Person to be Discarded”

Stating that he worked with Akar for 3 years during his time as Land Forces Commander and subsequently at the General Staff, and that Akar personally selected him based on his professional record, Gözel continued:

“It was constructed by likening it to the July 15, 1960 coup. They avoided likening it to September 12. Why wasn't it likened to September 12? If it were, Hulusi Akar would be here, and it would not be a cult coup and terrorist activity. I am here on the allegation that I am a member of the Peace at Home Council. In 1960, a 38-person council was formed after the coup. Here, it was formed with the logic of ‘These must be the ones.’ We learned what July 15 was from the accounts of Hulusi Akar, Yaşar Güler, and Salih Zeki Çolak. Hakan Fidan, one of the important factors, had no statement or defense. Even the letter he sent to the TBMM commission was not added to the file. Even if their accounts were true, an event like July 15 occurred; do they have no fault or responsibility? At the very least, they should have been removed from duty for negligence. Moreover, they did it knowingly and willingly; they are involved. Hulusi Akar looks at it from the perspective of getting away with it, but when things turn, he will be the first person to be discarded and brought here.”

Pointing out that July 15 did not happen in a single day, Gözel said the following:

“Hulusi Akar was appointed Chief of General Staff in 2015. Before that, the June elections had taken place and the AKP had not achieved the result it wanted. When he was in the Land Forces, there was a resolution process. A requirement was introduced to obtain permission from governors and district governors for operations. Permission was not being granted. Hulusi Akar said, ‘Archive them all, they will judge them one day,’ and wanted copies of these to be kept in the Operations Department and Legal Consultancy. The election ended, and a new operation decision was made. But these operations were not carried out for military necessity, but within the framework of political directives. The trench operations were carried out without any planning. We had more than 800 martyrs and 2,000 wounded. We are talking about the wounded of July 15, but we are not talking about this operation, where proportionally more ranked personnel were martyred than in the Battle of Sakarya. Later, Efkan Ala said, ‘They already had the authority.’ What do you mean? The Council of Ministers had taken a secret decision in 2013, but they legalized it one day before July 15.”

“He Used the Power of Intelligence Information Well”

Noting that July 15 cannot be understood or explained without understanding the relationship between Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan, and Yaşar Güler and Zekai Aksakallı, Ramazan Gözel made the following claims:

“Hulusi Akar became the Second Chief of General Staff in 2011. In 2013, contrary to tradition, he became the Land Forces Commander without having served as an army commander. One must give him his due; he was someone who had trained himself well compared to his peers. He met with everyone, military and civilian. He was secretive; he would receive intelligence information. He used the power of that information very well. I know that when he was at the General Staff, he did not share everything with the Prime Minister and the President. He had a knack for getting information from those who did the work directly. What he did and did not do on July 15 does not fit his style or the narrative he told. He says, ‘I gave orders here and there,’ but he doesn't meet with anyone. That day, there was a Counter-Terrorism meeting on the floor immediately below him. All the commanders were there, but he didn't say, ‘Go to the head of your units.’ There is a KİP Hasan mentioned in the Land Forces Command confidential indictment; he used to come to the force. There are things he told about Hulusi Akar, there is a diagram. KİP Hasan is above Adil Öksüz. According to what the secret witness codenamed 'Hat,' former staff colonel Hakan Bıyık, said, Adil Öksüz said at the meeting in the villa, ‘Hulusi Akar will not be a problem.’ If this construct is true, do you know what Akar says ‘yes’ to and what he says ‘no’ to? He does not say ‘yes’ to something that will not be successful. Just like the trip to Abdullah Gül by helicopter. If he is told, ‘We made a coup, take the lead,’ he says ‘yes.’ We can only understand July 15 if we can solve the relationship between Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan. When he was the Second Chief, he did not have a direct relationship with the MIT Undersecretary. According to tradition, the MIT Undersecretary would come every week and brief the Chief of General Staff. However, Necdet Özel did not want to meet and would send the second chief. I don't know if Necdet Özel knew or not; but they were meeting on weekdays and weekends, walking arm in arm in the garden. We warned them, saying, ‘It is not appropriate.’ They said, ‘He has a foul mouth, he swears,’ we didn't care, we didn't refrain from telling the truth. When Hakan Fidan resigned to become a member of parliament, Hulusi Akar worked very hard to save him, along with Ahmet Davutoğlu. Davutoğlu was supporting him, and he was supporting Davutoğlu. Hulusi Akar had a phone call with Hakan Fidan at 16:00 on July 15, but this was hidden, except for the TBMM report. I don't know what they coordinated. They also came together at the Headquarters between 18:00 and 20:30. What did they talk about for so many hours, what measures did they take? While they were meeting, I was organizing a dinner that Akar was going to attend on Wednesday.”

Gözel also said of Yaşar Güler, “He was the prosecutor of the İzmir espionage case. Yaşar Güler is a good second man. The Uludere incident was left on Necdet Özel Pasha. Yet Hulusi Akar was at the Headquarters, but his name is not mentioned. Because Yaşar Güler, who was the Head of Intelligence at the time, took the matter upon himself a bit. Whether they were very close, that's another matter.”

“Akar Was a Traveling Preacher”

Claiming that Akar gave instructions to prepare files on the commanders of critical units in Ankara 2-3 months before July 15, that he insistently wanted the Presidential Guard Regiment to conduct exercises rather than training, and that he visited military units and headquarters other than Akıncı and met with soldiers before July 15, Gözel continued:

“He was giving speeches as a ‘traveling preacher,’ in his own words, whoever he was likening himself to. Did he say, ‘I am staging a coup’? No, he gave the message, ‘I am with you.’ On July 15, he met with the President's Chief of Staff. I don't know what they discussed, but Hulusi Akar knows where the President is, we don't, and he didn't say either. Why don't they enter the HTS records of July 15? There was an unplanned meeting with MP Şirin Ünal that day; there were meetings with the MIT Undersecretary and retired colonel Sadık Üstün, a MIT Department Head. While he was at Akıncı that night, he asked us for the phone numbers of Abdullah Gül, İsmail Kahraman, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and Hakan Fidan through Mehmet Dişli. You don't go and meet with those they call coup plotters who are 2 minutes away. Yet you had previously visited all the units. He was there from 21:00 until 09:00 in the morning, but what he tells only amounts to 1 hour. The great general says he shouted and yelled so that his manhood wouldn't be questioned. If you didn't accept it, why are you meeting? When he was invited to pick tea with the heads of the judiciary in Rize, and when he was asked to give a speech on the anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, we reported that this was not possible as a soldier. He didn't want to either, but he spoke at the Yenikapı rally, he thanked 38 times in 10 minutes. Why did he thank? He handed over so many people to the judiciary, he didn't stand behind any of them. Hulusi Akar was losing in both cases; a successful coup he wasn't part of, or a failed coup he was part of, but he didn't lose. While great generals say they didn't understand the coup, non-commissioned officers were asked, ‘Why didn't you understand that a coup was being staged?’”

“Does the Political Will Believe Akar?”

Stating that he had been accused of being a member of the so-called Peace at Home Council for years, but was now kicked out of the council, Gözel said, “Is it that simple? No evidence has emerged against me for 10 years. They never searched, even if they did, it wouldn't have come out anyway. That's why don't acquit me due to lack of evidence, put the evidence forward,” and added the following while answering other allegations against him:

“It is said that I was called by the CHP that night. Yes, they called from the CHP chief of staff; but they also called from the MHP chief of staff. American Michael Flynn announced that he spoke with a general friend on July 15, he did not give his name. The question is; who did he speak with? The state gave millions of dollars to this man to have Fetullah Gülen brought back. The nation's money is going to them.”

At the end of his defense, Ramazan Gözel asked the court to hear Hulusi Akar, Yaşar Güler, and Hakan Fidan in order to reveal the truth about July 15, and saying, “I won't ask too many questions,” he directed the following questions to Akar:

“If the information brought by MIT was not a coup, but an incident of 3 helicopters kidnapping the MIT Undersecretary; how did he imagine that these 3 helicopters could land at the MIT compound and kidnap the Undersecretary? He stated that there were threats against high-level individuals recently; but why didn't the President and Prime Minister come to his mind and why didn't he warn them? Later, Yaşar Güler, like a distant relative, said they called the President's Chief of Protection and asked if they had taken the necessary precautions. Why didn't Hulusi Akar, who is dying to meet with the President in normal times, meet with him that day? If the MIT Undersecretary was going to be kidnapped, what did the closure of the airspace of the 1st and 3rd Army Commands have to do with this, but he left the Aegean airspace open? What did it have to do with the kidnapping of the MIT Undersecretary that he sent Metin Gürak to Etimesgut and banned the tanks from leaving? Hulusi Akar has not denied anything we have said to date. I wonder if the political will believes him? I don't think they do.”

Müyesser YILDIZ

June 26, 2026