Nihal Olçok attended the hearing and asked the former chief aide! 'What was the crime of my son and Erol Olçok?'

Nihal Olçok attended today's hearing to watch the defense of Ali Yazıcı, the former chief aide to the President, who recently claimed that the decision to kill Erol Olçok, who was martyred alongside his son on July 15, was made in Washington. When Olçok shouted, "What was the crime of Abdullah Tayyip Olçok and Erol Olçok?", Yazıcı claimed, "The killing of Erol Abi was planned in Washington and approved in Medina. It was executed on July 15. The killers of the deceased are not here; they are outside." Meanwhile, the court rejected Nihal Olçok's request to join the case as a plaintiff.

In today's session of the General Staff 'Main Case' (Genelkurmay Çatı Davası), which is being retried at the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court following the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversal decision, former staff colonel Ali Yazıcı, the chief aide to the President at the time, completed the defense he began yesterday.

At the beginning of the hearing, which Nihal Olçok also attended after traveling from Istanbul, Ali Yazıcı claimed that the Presiding Judge was being pressured by people asking, "Why are you letting terrorists speak?", to which the Judge warned, "Make your defense without making remarks about us or me. There is no pressure."

Ali Yazıcı, stating that the term "terrorist" was used for him in the media and that this influenced the trial, replied, "Either stop this or strip me of my citizenship. I did not open any files, I did not engage in dirty tactics. It will be like Ahmet Davutoğlu, but if I speak, the world will shake," and added the following:

"Today, I want to explain to you who the FETÖ member, the cultist, and the Anatolian person is. After July 15, I swear by God, they did not look for FETÖ members, terrorists, or coup plotters; they looked for Anatolian people. If they had asked, I would have given them names one by one. I challenge everyone except the Reis (President); if anyone has the heart, knowledge, and faith, let them come forward. Including Cevdet Yılmaz, Ali Babacan, and the Minister of Justice. I want to discuss these issues with the Presidential lawyer Süleyman Ayhan. Can he come to visit me in prison?"

After the Judge stated that the visit was not a matter concerning the court and that he could file a lawsuit against those who accused him, Yazıcı spoke of certain dialogues he claimed took place between him and Erdoğan, and while pointing to some AKP members as "FETÖ members," he said, "Who are the cultists? The sons-in-law of İsmail Kahraman and Bülent Arınç. They are outside. We, who are inside, are Anatolian people who have been trapped and set up."

The Presiding Judge reacted to Yazıcı using the term "FETÖ member" for people outside the case, saying, "We don't even know if such a conversation took place between you and the President."

Meanwhile, Nihal Olçok was heard shouting, "What was the crime of Abdullah Tayyip Olçok and Erol Olçok?"

The Presiding Judge asked, "Who is shouting? Is it a party to the case?" and ordered Olçok to be removed from the courtroom. Upon the lawyers and defendants answering, "Nihal Olçok," the Judge asked Olçok to listen quietly, while Ali Yazıcı voiced the following claims this time:

"She is not wrong, she is a mother. A mother with a broken heart is crying out. The killer of the late Erol Abi and Abdullah Tayyip Olçok is not here. I loved Erol Abi very much. He was such a brave, upright, and beautiful person that he was killed for that reason. May God damn those who martyred Erol Abi and his son. His killing was planned in Washington and approved in Medina. When the opportunity arose, it was executed on July 15. I kiss Nihal Hanım's hands and bow before her with respect. The killers of the deceased are not here, they are outside. I invite anyone who wants details to my ward."

WHO WAS IN THE WHATSAPP GROUPS AT THE PALACE?

When Ali Yazıcı stated that he would not go into the correspondence between the WhatsApp groups at the Palace on July 15 or the chief advisors, Presidential lawyer Süleyman Ayhan asked who was in those groups.

Yazıcı looked at the Presiding Judge, saying, "He wants names." The Judge replied, "You can explain it in a private meeting."

Yazıcı continued as follows:

"The Presidential lawyer who participated in the initial trials said, 'We learned and identified that you were a FETÖ member in April 2016.' So, they entrusted the President to me knowing I was a terrorist. A DHKP-C cleaner had infiltrated the Palace, and they sent them away immediately. But they kept me next to the President for 4 months. The same lawyer said, 'Yes, you didn't kill; but if you had been given the order, you would have.' What is this? Some people were cursing the Independence Tribunals for 40 years. Now they are making people pray for them. They tell the PKK, 'Lay down your arms, we will forgive you.' I don't have a weapon. I have martyrs in my family. A PKK member I spoke to in prison said, 'I will kill again when I get out.' He has a television, I don't."

The Presiding Judge intervened and asked for that person's name. Yazıcı said, "I don't remember. You said don't give names. If I give his name, I can't get out, I have a family," and then continued his words as follows:

"What do I need to do to be 'Mr. Ali Yazıcı', like 'Mr. Founding Leader' or 'Mr. Öcalan'? What should I give up? He is the killer of 50 thousand people. I never killed anyone. They wanted Pastor Brunson to be released, and they released him. When it comes to Muslim Ali Yazıcı, they say, 'There is law, we cannot release him.'"

"IF IT WEREN'T A SIN, I WOULD HAVE COMMITTED SUICIDE LONG AGO"

In the final part of his defense, Ali Yazıcı recounted that he wrote a letter to Emine Erdoğan saying, "Let the oppressor not touch families, spouses, and children," and the Judge warned him once again to be careful with his words.

Ali Yazıcı stated that these were entered into the UYAP system and mentioned a letter he wrote to Erdoğan's Chief of Staff Hasan Doğan on October 21, 2024, saying, "I haven't had canteen money for 2 months, I can't shop. My wife is not being reinstated to her job even though she won the case. I just want my confiscated per diems. I was acquitted of the 'Peace at Home Council' charge, but the seizures continue. Why isn't my OYAK savings and pension given to me? Tell your friend not to come after me anymore."

While the Presiding Judge did not allow him to read the letter on the grounds that it contained "criminal elements," Ali Yazıcı addressed Erdoğan, saying, "We still know you as the head of state. They set a trap for you, you must be very careful," and concluded his defense with these words:

"Pray that God takes my life. Suicide is a sin for us; if it weren't, I would have done it long ago. The Ottomans would hang people, but they would look after their families. What kind of Ottoman grandson is this?"

After Yazıcı's defense ended, Nihal Olçok requested to join the case "for the July 15 martyrs, her son Abdullah Tayyip Olçok and her ex-husband Erol Olçok, and as a mother of two orphans."

The Prosecutor, when asked for his opinion, requested that Olçok's request to join be accepted and that the detention of the imprisoned defendants be continued.

While the court decided to issue arrest warrants for three fugitive defendants and continue the detention of the imprisoned defendants, it rejected Nihal Olçok's request to join the case as it was not within the scope of the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversal decision.

After a 10-day break, the hearing will continue from July 1.

Müyesser YILDIZ

June 20, 2025