Who did the Palace learn about the coup from?.. Where were the appointment lists prepared?

As the General Staff 'Roof' Case, which has been retried for one year following the Supreme Court of Appeals' reversal decision, nears its end, former brigadier general Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş, the only person to confess to being a “coup plotter,” stated that the July 15 attempt failed due to intelligence gaps and the Palace learning of the plan. “How did the Palace learn? The number one suspect is Hulusi Akar and his close team,” he said. Cemil Turhan, a former staff colonel who served as the General-Admiral Branch Manager of the General Staff at the time and whose name appeared under the alleged martial law directive and appointment lists, stated that he heard the appointment lists were prepared at the Palace.

In yesterday's session of the trial held by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison Campus, Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş, who completed his defense that was left unfinished last week, continued to describe the events in Marmaris, where he had gone to capture Erdoğan. Stating that one of the two police officers they were accused of killing was killed with a knife and the other with a pump-action shotgun, Sönmezateş noted the following:

“A special weapon was also found here. This weapon did not belong to us, and neither the Police nor the TSK accepted it. We were under fire in Marmaris, and the General Staff Operations Center was asleep. None of the tape recordings at Akıncı mention Marmaris. The person you sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment by calling him a 'manager' had no knowledge of Marmaris. The perpetrator of those two police officers remains unknown. As a former intelligence officer, I will say what I know; significant unsolved murders have occurred in Turkey since the 90s. They remain unsolved. If you do not go to the Chief of General Staff, the MIT Undersecretary, or the Special Forces Commander of that era of unsolved murders, it means you do not want to find the perpetrators.”

“Why Did July 15 Fail?”

Emphasizing that he joined the coup attempt because he believed it would succeed and that he was therefore seeking the answer to the question, “Why did July 15 fail?”, Sönmezateş spoke as follows:

“Everyone, including the opposition media, says that the public pouring into the streets for Erdoğan, the Ergenekon-Balyoz convicts fighting heroically for Erdoğan, Zekai Aksakallı having Semih Terzi killed, and O.K. going to MIT caused the coup to fail. These are heroics to me. This story is told to the public, but not to me. The most critical issue is that the plan was compromised. We had an intelligence gap. Both the Palace and MIT were aware of the issue months in advance. How did the Palace learn? The number one suspect is Hulusi Akar and his close team. The subsequent collapse occurred with the participation of Abidin Ünal and Bülent Bostanoğlu. Clearly, they were afraid and betrayed us. The second reason for the failure is that the plan was deviated from. The plan was to capture Erdoğan, no matter what. No one was to be taken before he was taken. We knew that if he wasn't taken, we would fail. When I was in Çiğli and saw what was happening on the Bosphorus Bridge, I said, 'Who are these people?' I still cannot make sense of it. It was not in the plan. Planes flying in Ankara; go and capture them after these, how will you capture them? If the commanders betray you, if the entire plan is compromised, and if your every step is relayed to MIT from the inside, you will fail, of course. What do you expect?”

“Yaşar Güler Cursed”

Regarding Major General Mete Kuş, the 3rd Main Jet Base Commander who was recently reassigned to the center for flying a fighter jet and helicopter over the stadium during the Tümosan Konyaspor-Fenerbahçe match, Sönmezateş made the following claim:

“He is a former FETÖ member, a cultist. Someone who left them and switched to Erdoğan's side. He came to me before July 15 and said, 'You served as the head of intelligence. Would you work at the center established in the Palace to fight FETÖ?' I said I would work if Yaşar Güler allowed it. Then I told Yaşar Güler. He cursed at Mete Kuş and said, 'No, you are not going,' and thanked me, saying he would handle the rest.”

“Were We Deceived or Not?”

Stating that he participated in July 15 not for money or position, but to put an end to the poor direction of the country's administration, Sönmezateş said, “You set ideals for yourself, and if you fail, you pay the price. I am paying that price. I did not think I would go to prison.” He continued:

“The ultimate truth I am looking for and the only thing I am curious about is this: were we really deceived or not? If the corruption allegations regarding Erdoğan are not true, it is right that I am in prison. I don't know this. But no one from the opposition is speaking up either. The allegation regarding Akın Gürlek is only 10 million dollars. I am talking about 450 million dollars.”

Finally, stating that it was rumored that a general amnesty was not issued because of them, Sönmezateş said:

“I have no expectation of amnesty for myself in any way. I am ready to submit a petition stating that I will not benefit from such a general amnesty, provided that judicial and political prisoners, Gezi detainees, and those for whom the ECHR has made decisions are included in the scope of the amnesty. If I go back on my word, I am a dishonorable person. As long as other grievances and persecutions end.”

Sönmezateş's lawyer, Nevra Hükkamoğlu, also stated that all their requests regarding the expansion of the prosecution were rejected and that there was an unlawful avoidance of evidence collection, adding, “Reserving our right to make a defense in an impartial and independent court, I leave the panel alone with its responsibility.”

Defenses Finished, Moving to Final Statements

With Sönmezateş's defense, the defenses of all defendants against the prosecutor's opinion on the merits were completed, and the process of taking final statements began.

After the Presiding Judge announced that all requests of the defendants, primarily the hearing of names such as Hulusi Akar, Yaşar Güler, Hakan Fidan, Zekai Aksakallı, Şirin Ünal, Major O.K., and secret witness 'Abdullah' as witnesses, were unanimously rejected, he asked former general Erhan Caha for his final statement. After Caha made his statement, the lawyers pointed out that the prosecutor was not in the courtroom. Upon this, the Presiding Judge said, “We will start over after the prosecutor arrives.” After the prosecutor arrived, the Judge repeated the interim decisions, and Erhan Caha repeated his final statement.

The final statements of some other defendants were as follows:

Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş:“Since my first statement, I have nothing to add to what I have said for 10 years.”

Cengiz Aydın:“I am not a member of the organization, I am not a FETÖ member. I carried out the orders given by my commanders. I collected the evidence and delivered it to the prosecutor. No one from my unit is under arrest. There is no witness or secret witness testimony against me. I expect you to grant my release.”

Serkan Sağ:“I am being tried based on a few photos, but the necessary examination regarding these photos was not conducted. The person in the photos is not me, it is Özcan Kurt. I could not understand what kind of love or protection this is for Özcan Kurt.”

Akın Öztürk:“Whatever I said in my first statement, it is the same today. There is no difference. I tried to explain that I was not a manager of the Peace at Home Council. Even though all courts accepted that there was no such council, I tried to prove that I was not a member of a non-existent council. There is already no accusation regarding FETÖ membership. I told my troubles to the UN; but no one from our judicial or administrative authorities hears us. Many concepts such as nationalism and religiosity have been hollowed out; at least let the saying 'Justice is the foundation of the state' not be hollowed out.”

Abdulvahap Berke:“When we went inside, Mehmet Akif Ersoy said, 'May they be reformed.' I hope he is reforming himself.”

Abdurrahim Aksoy:“There is no terrorist organization called FETÖ, and there never was. Doğu Perinçek was the first to use 'FETÖ', and Abdullah Öcalan was the first to use 'parallel state'. This is a joint production of the two. July 15 is a trap set by those who are corrupt and crushed under corruption against the TSK and the Turkish Nation. I have no doubt that we will get out of here and our reputation will be restored. Those who set this trap will flee across the Meriç.”

Abdurrahman Aydoğan:“I am a member of the Special Forces Command. It was revealed by ballistic reports that we did not use weapons. But no one asked anything to the two police officers who used 4 thousand bullets that night. They call it a coup; no one asks anything to Hulusi Akar, Zekai Aksakallı, and Hakan Fidan behind it.”

Bünyamin Tuner:“You did not have the patience to listen to my defense, how will you listen to my final words? We expect you to do what the law requires.”

Cemal Turgut:“What the Tunceli Governor did in the Gülistan Doku case, the Chief of General Staff and his subordinates did. Just as the parents of a student who attacked a school in Kahramanmaraş were arrested for not doing their duties, the Chief of General Staff should also be held accountable for his responsibility, even if he was not involved in the coup.”

Call for Effective Repentance to Sönmezateş

Former brigadier general Ahmet Bican Kırker, who was accused of occupying the Etimesgut Armored Units School Training and Division Command on July 15 and ordering tanks to take to the streets while serving as the Personnel Department Head of the Land Forces Command at the time, accused both Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş and the government with harsh expressions in his final statement.

Kırker, who attended the hearing via SEGBİS from Diyarbakır Prison, said about some commanders tried for the coup and Sönmezateş, “Since we have come from where words end, I tried not to blame any victim of this great conspiracy, especially Mustafa Özsoy, Yıldırım Güvenç, and Metin İyidil. Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş confessed that he took part in conspiracies established against the nation in every period. He is being cunning.” After saying this, he asked if Sönmezateş was in the courtroom.

Upon the Presiding Judge's answer, “What does it matter? He is not in the courtroom,” Kırker said, “I strongly condemn him. I invite him to apologize to those concerned and to benefit from effective repentance.”

Kırker continued by explaining that the TSK prevented a plan to incite a civil war at the cost of their lives, that Turkey, the Turkish Nation, and the Middle East could not find peace as long as the July 15 mystery was not solved, and criticized Erdoğan and the government with harsh expressions, saying, “Where the Constitutional Court is bypassed and the Constitution is treated like a doormat, one cannot speak of violating the Constitution.” The Presiding Judge warned, “Enough. I am telling you not to speak politically, you are listing them one after another. A final statement cannot be like this.”

Kırker replied, “Without understanding, without listening, where to? I wish you well. Even if your court, which puts the Inquisition courts to shame, gives an acquittal decision about me, I do not accept it.”

Were the Lists Prepared at the Palace?

The last person to make a final statement in yesterday's session was Cemil Turhan, a former staff colonel who served as the General-Admiral Branch Manager of the General Staff at the time and whose name appeared under the alleged martial law directive and appointment lists. Stating that they definitely did not prepare the appointment lists themselves and that he thought MIT, especially Sadık Üstün, prepared them, Turhan said, “It was asked to Sadık Üstün. True, false - I don't know; but it reached my ears that he also said the list was not prepared by them, but by the Presidency.”

Müyesser YILDIZ

May 12, 2026