Former Presidential Guard Regiment Commander Accuses Akar, Güler, and Aksakallı... Calls Semih Terzi a 'Martyr'...

News: Müyesser YILDIZ - 12punto

Presenting his defense in the retrial of the General Staff 'Main Case' following the Supreme Court's reversal decision, former Staff Colonel Muhsin Kutsi Barış, the Presidential Guard Regiment Commander at the time, claimed that on July 15 he only followed the orders of Hulusi Akar and Yaşar Güler, stating, 'If I were a coup plotter, I would have seized Erdoğan during the Guard Regiment's anniversary celebration on July 18.' Accusing the then-Special Forces Commander Zekai Aksakallı of 'having Semih Terzi executed,' Barış alleged that the reason for the execution was 'dirty business' regarding the support of jihadists in northern Syria.

In the trial continuing at the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court at the Sincan Prison Campus, former Guard Regiment Commander Muhsin Kutsi Barış, who has been presenting his defense for two days, said, 'Staff officers are the engine of the Turkish Armed Forces. However, after July 15, 1,524 out of 1,886 staff officers were dismissed; almost all staff officers were purged. Turkey has imprisoned its own brain. Officers were humiliated using July 15 as an excuse. In reality, it is the nation itself that is being humiliated,' before making the following allegations regarding his detention:

'Look at the footage of me being taken from the Guard Regiment; I am physically intact, in civilian clothes, and not handcuffed. Deputy Regiment Commander Ahmet Hatip called Presidential Chief of Staff Hasan Doğan and contacted the then-Secretary General Fahri Kasırga. I was handcuffed after being put into a car. When we left the Çankaya Mansion, I realized we were heading to the Presidential Complex in Beştepe. As we approached, two vehicles sent by Hasan Doğan arrived and took me. They stopped the vehicles 50 meters from the Complex; there was a crowd. They took me out in handcuffs and left me in the middle of the crowd. We were ambushed in the Southeast in 1996; I don't know how I survived. I also made it out of that crowd alive on July 16. They wanted us killed. I only remember one police officer firing into the air, probably to hold back the crowd. When I came to, Fahri Kasırga was standing over me. The second person subjected to torture at Beştepe was Major Haydar Aktaş. We know Fahri Kasırga, and he knows us. No politician was detained on July 15. The only politician was Fahri Kasırga. And he is not a politician, but a bureaucrat. Haydar Aktaş faced the risk of losing his eye as a result of the torture. I also lost 80 percent of my left eye during the crowd's attack. For 6 days, I was subjected to torture, first at Beştepe and then at the Police sports hall. On July 31, a conscientious doctor wrote down my condition in a report upon my entry into prison; I owe him a debt of gratitude. I am filing a criminal complaint regarding this torture.'

"WHEN HULUSİ EFENDİ ENTERED THE SAUNA"

Stating that while the number of messages sent from the General Staff to units regarding security threats and measures normally does not exceed 2-3, a total of 30 messages were sent on July 14-15, the vast majority of which were MIT-sourced, and that this alone reveals the strategic shaping within the TSK, Muhsin Kutsi Barış claimed that July 15 was a successful and major setup carried out by an oligarchic crypto-structure with the support of certain foreign intelligence agencies using a 'start-wait-abort' strategy.

While reporting that the accusations directed at him were based on the testimony of Levent Türkkan, the aide-de-camp of the then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, obtained under torture, Barış also said the following:

'I had no intimacy with Levent Türkkan. When Hulusi Akar and Yaşar Güler came to the Guard Regiment for sports on weekends, we had a formal and balanced relationship. After the walks, Hulusi Efendi would go into the sauna, and we would stay outside. Once, he said, "The Commander bought two apartments through zoning changes and immoral offers." When I asked "How?", he stated that he was buddies with Hakan Fidan. When we met in court, when I asked him if he would tell these things, he replied, "I won't go below the belt." Hulusi Akar asked what we were doing during his last walks to the Guard Regiment. When I said we were preparing for the anniversary ceremonies on July 18; despite this important activity attended by all state officials, including the President; he insisted on orders for me to conduct drills, not training, saying, "Forget the ceremony and protocol. Look at security, security! There are explosions everywhere, there is very critical action intelligence coming in. If something goes wrong at the ceremony, no one will die, it will pass. If there is an attack here or at Beştepe, you won't be able to account for it. Be aware of that!" Hulusi Akar, who persistently gave orders, and Yaşar Güler, who canceled the final rehearsal of the July 18 ceremonies and constantly gave orders for me to conduct joint training and drills with the Special Forces Command, need to explain why they gave these orders. I deeply regret respecting Yaşar Güler and Hulusi Akar in the past; I do not respect any of them. If I were to plan a coup, I would have seized Erdoğan during the July 18 anniversary ceremonies. Not a single soldier was sent from the Guard Regiment to Beştepe or the TBMM. It was the Guard Regiment that took over the Parliament on September 12. I consider the claim that I planned the coup an insult. I have no crime other than following the orders regarding security measures in accordance with the orders of my first and second reporting officers, Yaşar Güler and Hulusi Akar.'

WHAT DID ERDOĞAN'S ADVISOR ASK?

Noting that he was included in the so-called Peace at Home Council following the 2017 claim by Erdoğan's Chief Advisor Yalçın Topçu that he would "come to Beştepe, sit in the President's chair, and have his photo taken," and that he began to be tried in this case after the Guard Regiment case, Muhsin Kutsi Barış, who called Topçu "the real FETÖ member," continued as follows:

"I am accused of being in contact with some civilians and holding irregular meetings one week before July 15. One of those I met with was Erdoğan's Advisor Orhan Karakurt. He came to me and asked, 'My dear Colonel, we want to turn back from a mistake and have the TSK used in social incidents again. What do you think?' I replied, 'I am a regiment commander. This concerns my superiors. Go talk to Yaşar Güler and Hulusi Akar.' Another person I met with was again Erdoğan's Chief Advisor Ahmet Karayiğit. Furthermore, a team from TRT came for the July 18 ceremonies. It is also claimed that I held a meeting with the then-Presidential Chief Aide-de-Camp Ali Yazıcı. With the acquittal of Ali Yazıcı regarding the management charge, this claim, along with the UN's Akın Öztürk ruling, has caused the management narrative to collapse."

HOW HE ACCUSED FİDAN, AKSAKALLI, AND ESKİNTAN

While stating that the then-Chief of General Staff 2nd Commander Yaşar Güler had special relations with the MIT, Muhsin Kutsi Barış said of Hakan Fidan, "The man receives a coup tip-off and comes running to the General Staff. These stupid coup plotters don't seize him there, but take action after he leaves. There isn't a single prosecutor who questions this."

Continuing his remarks by saying, "I am saying it clearly, the man called Zekai Aksakallı is a despicable murderer," Muhsin Kutsi Barış was warned by the Presiding Judge: "I cannot allow these insults. You cannot say this by claiming, 'I have already received an aggravated life sentence, let him file a lawsuit.' I request that you comply with this." However, Barış continued as follows:

"The execution orders given by Zekai Aksakallı are not limited to Semih Terzi. I am saying it openly, Semih Terzi is a July 15 martyr. He is someone I know. He was the private secretary to Işık Koşaner, a highly respected, honorable soldier and a true statesman whom I deeply respect, when he was the Land Forces Commander. I also served as the private secretary to two chiefs of staff. I worked with Semih Terzi for 2 years. He is someone whose diligence, honesty, and patriotism I have witnessed. Why was Semih Terzi executed? The one who gave the order is Zekai Aksakallı. There were dirty financial dealings he was involved in with Deputy Undersecretary of MIT Kemal Eskintan regarding the support of jihadists in northern Syria. Semih Terzi argued with Kemal Eskintan because of this. After that, his execution was decided."

WHY DID ÖZGÜR ÖZEL CHANGE?

While arguing that there is no armed terrorist organization called 'FETÖ,' Muhsin Kutsi Barış stated the following:

'I cannot be a member or a leader of an organization that does not exist. One might think I am defending FETÖ, but those who follow ideas and have intellectual integrity must speak the truth. Because everyone remained silent, it fell to us; I am not a FETÖ member, yes, there is a religious community that was told, "What did you ask for that we did not give?" which is a reality of Turkey. But there is no armed terrorist organization called FETÖ. While FETÖ is being demonized, the damage done to the social fabric is immense. Every problem has started to be washed away with FETÖ. It is said that a general amnesty will be issued. A criminal is pardoned. You can pardon your own relatives. For my part, I am not a criminal, and I do not accept your pardon. I consider being categorized with them an insult.'

Pointing out that CHP Chairman Özgür Özel called July 15 a "controlled coup" while he was Deputy Group Chairman in 2017, but declared it a "real coup" in 2024, Muhsin Kutsi Barış asked, "What concrete evidence that was unknown since 2017 has been uncovered to cause this change in rhetoric?" He then alleged that Deputy Chairman Yankı Bağcıoğlu, who was tried in the Istanbul Military Espionage conspiracy case, had an influence on this change in rhetoric. While asking why the CHP did not make a single statement regarding the UN decision on Akın Öztürk, who is called the "number 1" of July 15, Barış said, "The point the CHP has reached is standing in the same place as the ruling political power."

At the end of his defense, recalling that a total of 1,042 active/retired personnel were tried in conspiracy cases and 250-300 people were dismissed or retired, and that it was said, "The TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) was purged, the TSK's arms and legs were cut off," Muhsin Kutsi Barış claimed that although 30,000 soldiers were purged on July 15, excluding the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Commands, the state's army was turned into a party's army under the perception that "We are getting stronger as we get rid of the traitors."

Finally, Muhsin Kutsi Barış requested that Erdoğan be heard as a complainant and that he be asked whether he truly learned about the coup from his brother-in-law, and why he did not dismiss Hakan Fidan and Hulusi Akar, who did not inform him of July 15. Barış requested that Hakan Fidan, Hulusi Akar, Yaşar Güler, Zekai Aksakallı, and Kemal Eskintan, whom he described as "dark men who played a strategic role on July 15," as well as numerous names including İbrahim Kalın, Arif Çetin, Sadık Üstün, Şirin Ünal, Nevzat Tarhan, Melih Tanrıverdi, Sedat Peker, Ümit Özdağ, Nihal Olçok, Aleksandr Dugin, Doğu Perinçek, and Melih Gökçek, be heard as witnesses, and that a retrial be held in the General Staff Main Case following the evidence presented.

His lawyer, Kemal Çetinkaya, also pointed out that Muhsin Kutsi Barış had 2,500 soldiers under his command, of whom only 230 went to TRT and the General Staff, and requested that Murat Akgün from A Haber, who read the coup declaration on air 1 hour before TRT, be heard and that an expert examine whether the events of July 15 were consistent with coup planning.