Akar's former chief advisor: The Peace at Home Council exists and its chairman is Hulusi Akar

In the retrial of the General Staff "Main Case" following the Court of Cassation's reversal of the verdicts for 199 defendants, former staff colonel Osman Kardal, who was serving at the General Staff Operations Center at the time, demanded that Hulusi Akar and Yaşar Güler be tried for failing to prevent the coup in their capacity as guarantors. Another defendant, Ali Çakır, alleged that one of the defendants in the Bora Kaplan case, with whom he shared a prison cell, confessed, "On July 15, we killed our rivals and threw them in front of the military units."

In the third session of the trial held today at the Sincan Prison complex by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court, the statements of the defendants and their lawyers regarding the Court of Cassation's decision continued to be heard.

Most of the defendants stated that they were convicted without their evidence being evaluated and without ballistic examinations of the weapons being conducted, and demanded a retrial.

Bora Kaplan July 15 Connection

Defendant and former captain Ali Çakır alleged that one of the defendants in the Bora Kaplan case, with whom he shared a cell in prison, confessed, "On July 15, we killed our rivals and threw them in front of the military units," and requested that this matter be investigated.

Former staff colonel Cemal Turgut drew attention to the conversations held on some police radios on July 15 and the statements of police officers on duty at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, saying, "4,000 bullets were fired randomly. It is possible that civilians in the area were hit by these. The Turkish Armed Forces do not have Kalashnikovs or sniper rifles. These police officers should be heard as witnesses."

Former staff lieutenant colonel Bünyamin Tuner, who was the private secretary of the then-Second Chief of General Staff, General Yaşar Güler, reacted to the previous panel of the court and asked this panel not to obstruct the revelation of the truth.

Former staff major Mutlu Burak Uyar, while explaining that he was victimized because of judges and prosecutors who did not know military legislation, requested that many names, primarily Department Head Uğur Tarçın, who caused him to stay at the headquarters that night, as well as Hulusi Akar, Yaşar Güler, and Metin Gürak, be heard, stating, "These are important for my innocence."

"I am the President's Man"

Former staff colonel Osman Kardal, who was in charge of the General Staff Operations Center at the time, stated that in our country, violating rights does not attract as much attention as eating with one's left hand, and when he criticized the court panel, the Presiding Judge warned him not to make accusations against the panel. Continuing his statement and declaring that they should be retried, Kardal responded to the reactions from the victim-complainants by saying, "The UN, of which our country is a member, wrote that 61 martyrs were killed from the outside. No one should lecture anyone else."

Osman Kardal, while stating that he is from Trabzon and a graduate of Trabzon High School, referred to Ekrem İmamoğlu and sent the message, "We probably went to high school together. Everyone who graduates from that high school passes the 4-year university entrance exam."

Osman Kardal continued as follows:

"I was on vacation with my family between July 1 and 10. If I were from the organization, I wouldn't have been on leave. Find one FETÖ member in my family, and I will accept membership in the organization. I am neither a member of the organization nor a coup plotter. After December 17-25, I was assigned to the Operations Center with the instruction that 'No FETÖ member will enter the General Staff.' I am actually the President's man. On July 15, I was working on the minus 15th floor; I was following Iraq, Syria, and Yemen; I was unaware of what was happening outside. The great Chief of General Staff gave an order to a colonel by phone to close the flight zone without informing any force commander. You say this is a coup, let's prevent it. You cannot prevent it after it has started. They did not prevent the coup in their capacity as guarantors. Why couldn't they prevent it? I want the first and second chiefs to be tried. We were three staff colonels in the Operations Center. One became a general. The other, he doesn't read anything at the General Staff, but he always read Aydınlık. They made him a general too. They had to put me in prison so they could become generals. I had nearly 20 meetings with our Department Head İlhan Kırtıl that day, but there is no mention of a coup. He was not tried. I heard that he is currently the head of the Presidential Operations Center. Süleyman Ayhan Bey (Presidential lawyer) knows."

Kardal also claimed that he was subjected to severe torture while in custody and that his statement was taken only in his underwear and without a lawyer, saying, "Torture is a reason for a retrial."

Former Chief Advisor Bombshell

In the afternoon session of the hearing, former staff colonel Orhan Yıkılkan, who was the chief advisor to the then-Chief of General Staff, General Hulusi Akar, made remarkable allegations about Akar and Yaşar Güler.

After emphasizing that Fahri Kafkas, who distributed ammunition and dispatched soldiers against the public, was acquitted and that the Court of Cassation upheld this decision, Yıkılkan said:

"It is a fair and correct decision. My question is this: why were his acquittal justifications not taken into account? The reason is, unfortunately, that he is a relative of Yaşar Güler's classmate and was assigned to the General Staff with Güler's reference."

Orhan Yıkılkan also made these striking allegations regarding the so-called Peace at Home Council, which was understood not to exist:

"The court had already said it didn't exist. The Court of Cassation also stated that there was no information or document regarding the Council. No, there is a document among the MEDAS messages stating that Hulusi Akar is the council chairman. It shows that the chairman is Akar and the force commanders are members. This is the same as the September 12 messages. That is why both the Court and the Court of Cassation said 'It doesn't exist' to ignore this. Well, let's close our eyes to this, let Akar say, 'I didn't sign it'; but there are the before, the preparations, the orders he gave. How conscientious is it to clearly ignore this? When I said this to the previous court panel, Presiding Judge Oğuz Dik said, 'Hulusi Akar is not in the indictment, we cannot try him.' I am not saying try him; I am talking about rights, law, and justice. I am drawing attention to the fact that those without names or signatures are being punished."

Following these statements, Yıkılkan requested that if the court determines the illegalities, it should take initiatives to restart the trial process before the Ministry of Justice or the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation.

"Welcome to Our Midst, Ümit and Ekrem"

Former brigadier general Mehmet Dişli, who was accused of having Hulusi Akar detained on July 15, also said:

"My position is the same as Mr. Hulusi Akar's. When I was taken into custody and taken to the Police Department while working at the crisis desk at the Çankaya Mansion on July 16, I asked, 'Why am I here?' 9 years have passed, I am still at the same point. They talk about judicial decisions; which judicial decisions are they talking about? Decisions where the most basic legal principles are ignored, witnesses are not heard, and only fictional reports are taken into account? I say welcome to our midst, Ümit and Ekrem. They now understand what happened to us. From now on, for me, it is a struggle for honor and to hold those responsible accountable before the law. I think it won't be long."

If I Had Known, I Would Have Strangled Hulusi Akar

One of the defendants, former Çiğli Base Commander Kubilay Selçuk, used the term "gentleman" for Hulusi Akar and spoke as follows:

"If I had known what kind of mess he was involved in, that he was meeting with some people at the Atatürk Forest Farm, or that he had received news of the coup and had not taken the slightest precaution, I probably would have strangled him there. I fell into a political trap; they threw me out so they could play their game like this, so they could lay the country out flat. I want Hulusi Akar to come here. There are things I haven't shared because of my character and morality. If he comes, we will share them. Does a Chief of General Staff choose his headquarters from FETÖ members? If not, is there not one person he can vouch for? This is a character test. You cannot keep someone like this as Chief of General Staff, you cannot make him Minister of National Defense."

Who Was Going to Be the Head of State?

The last defendant to make a statement in today's session was former brigadier general Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş. Sönmezateş said:

"I did not kill or injure anyone. Why did I get a sentence? For trying to arrest Erdoğan. There is no greater crime than this. A lesser crime than this is being a presidential candidate and the possibility of being elected. Otherwise, killing or injuring is not a crime. Yes, I went to Marmaris. I was the only general with a weapon in his hand that day and I failed my mission. That's why I'm here."

When Sönmezateş brought up corruption allegations regarding Erdoğan in the continuation of his statement, the Presiding Judge warned him that these were not the subject of the case and that he should not engage in politics.

Sönmezateş continued as follows:

"My men and I did not kill anyone. If I had, I would have definitely said so. I was punished not for the crime I committed, but for what I did not do. I was interrogated at the Counter-Terrorism Department for 14 days. They were questioning July 15, they were looking for the truth. They didn't ask a single question about Akın Öztürk, who is called the number 1 of the coup. They knew very well that Akın Öztürk had nothing to do with the coup or FETÖ. I was subjected to many questions about Abidin Ünal and Hulusi Akar. I said that I had never met Abidin Ünal before the coup. If you ask about Hulusi Akar; if you say to those in this hall, 'Who was going to be the head of state after the coup?', 90 percent would say, 'Akar would be.' I told those who did the interrogation, 'You cannot touch him, you cannot do anything to him.' Hulusi Akar's men did their best to protect him for 2 years, they said, 'Don't talk about Hulusi Akar. He will save you soon, he is working for this.' But I see that they are now fed up with this lie and that they have realized that every sheep is hung by its own leg. There is no organization or leader here. In 2018, it seemed like there was. That was also to protect Hulusi Akar. Today, no one can do anything to Hulusi Akar either. He is under Erdoğan's protection, the closest friend of Hakan Fidan. That matter is closed, it's over."

While Sönmezateş stated that Akın Öztürk and İlhan Talu were subjected to severe torture, he reacted to the answer Özgür Özel gave to Erdoğan, "You asked for our help in explaining July 15 to the outside world," as follows:

"The guy called Özgür Özel is now confessing. He went abroad and explained that we were not tortured. If university and high school students are being tortured now, this is the reason. If I were in their place, I wouldn't trust Özgür Özel."

The Presiding Judge intervened in these words of Sönmezateş, saying, "It is not the subject of our case."

The hearing will continue tomorrow.

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 24, 2025