Striking statement from a key figure of July 15: 'Three commanders were blackmailed'

Hakan Evrim, who presented his defense during yesterday's and today's sessions of the trial continuing at the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court in the Sincan Prison complex, began his remarks by saying, "I am innocent; I am not a terrorist or a traitor."

Responding to the accusation that he was listed as "continuing in duty" and "Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Education" on the so-called appointment list, Evrim stated the following:

"I cannot be held responsible for an assignment made outside of my knowledge and will. In the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the principle of notification and acknowledgment is essential; no one notified me, and I did not acknowledge any such assignment. According to the indictment, there is no reason or logic for me to have appointed myself to a position in which I have no knowledge or experience, while being among the members of the imaginary 'Peace at Home Council' that prepared this list. This is not my job. If I had prepared the list, I should have taken the most prestigious position. I have never worked in TSK educational institutions. If I had prepared the list, I would not have appointed myself to this position. I am sure that the community, which is quite successful in education, could have easily found someone suitable for this task. Furthermore, some of those on the appointment list are being arrested, some are being retired, some are being dismissed, and some are being kept on duty in the TSK and even made generals/admirals. For example, Lieutenant General Metin Gürak was appointed as the GATA Health Commander on the list. However, he faced no investigation and was subsequently even made Chief of General Staff."

Evrim rejected the allegations that he planned and directed the coup as follows:

"There is no statement or evidence against me on this matter. If anyone can bring this evidence, I will remain silent and accept all accusations. I challenge you. If a coup meeting were to be held, it should have been at my base, which is said to be the center of the coup. All cameras at my base were active; none were turned off. During the holiday week of July 5-9, when it is claimed that the final meetings were held, I was in my hometown of Ödemiş. If I were a leader, I should have definitely attended these meetings that were allegedly held during the holiday. If I had wanted to allocate the base to the coup, I would have done it from the very beginning. Why wouldn't someone who allocated the base to the coup also allocate it for planning meetings? Adil Öksüz had been coming to Kazan since January 2016, rented a villa in Ankara, and held many meetings. If I had been involved in this, Adil Öksüz should have contacted and met with me from the very beginning. I would have prepared all 71 F-16 aircraft at my base for the operation. Even the weapon systems at the base were sufficient for what was done that night; no other reinforcements would have been needed. What will you say about the Chief of General Staff, the 2nd Chief, and the Land and Air Forces Commanders who knew about and received news of the coup, did not take precautions, did not inform anyone, did not protect their own headquarters or other units from the coup, and then continued their duties? What was done regarding their allocation of their units to the coup? Despite knowing about the coup, they could neither protect their own headquarters nor inform other units."

"HULUSİ AKAR LIED"

Evrim, who called the statement by the then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, "Hakan Evrim said something to me like 'we can have you meet with our opinion leader Fetullah Gülen if you wish'," a "slander," and pointed out that there are two versions of Akar's single statement, explained the following:

"In this remark, just like in other parts of his statement, there is no definitive, clear expression. Saying 'something like that' means 'it could be or it might not be.' There are 20 differences and changes between the two copies of Akar's statement. In the second one, corrections were made in a way that would save him. This is proof that he is not telling the truth and that he changes his statement according to the situation. He could not go to the Parliamentary Coup Commission because he was afraid, and in the written statement he sent, he never mentioned this issue that he claims I said to him. If this statement were true, it should have been voiced by Hulusi Akar in every environment; however, he has not voiced this slander anywhere else, and he could not. I do not know Fetullah Gülen's phone number. I have never called him on the phone nor have I ever met him. Therefore, it is impossible for me to have made such an offer to Hulusi Akar. What happened at Akıncı is this: The Chief of General Staff was directing those there by producing ideas with a different approach and offering stronger solution alternatives. He stated that he knew about the complaints mentioned in the declaration published on TRT regarding the country's situation, that he agreed with them, and that even some deputies from the ruling party had personally expressed similar grievances to him on these issues. He made remarks about working to solve the country's problems by acting together with the participation of all segments of society; for example, with the participation of Abdullah Gül, Ahmet Davutoğlu, intra-party opposition, opposition parties, non-governmental organizations, unions, and even opinion leaders. He sat in my office all night long. He gave orders to everyone within the chain of command. Supposedly while being interned, he personally called his home twice from the military line at 02:09 and 06:04 at night and spoke only with his wife and calmed her down. What kind of internment is this? Hulusi Akar, whose statement is accepted as evidence against me, should have come to court and been heard in the session where we were present. But he did not come, could not come, was not brought. If he were a man of his word, he would come here and say the same statement. He didn't have the guts."

Arguing that the existence of the Peace at Home Council could not be proven, that it emerged that Akın Öztürk was not the number 1 of the coup, that the coup plan could not be found, and that the defendants with an IQ over 130 would not plan such a coup, Hakan Evrim continued as follows:

"The selected targets are not strategically correct targets. Closing only one of the three bridges, and that too only one-way, to traffic is not explainable from a military perspective. Likewise, the Parliament, which could easily be taken by soldiers, is bombed while the Force Commands are in its vicinity. Is this logical? Furthermore, although the coup plotters had so many planes at their disposal and held hostages, they did not think of using any of them, and they did not make any escape plan or alternative plan. The cameras in Marmaris and Dalaman are turned off when the President is there, and the recordings are deleted. Why? It is said that I carried out the coup at Akıncı Base; but all camera recordings are still there, they are not deleted. Aytun Çıray (former CHP deputy and member of the Coup Commission) said, 'It is not logical for the community to try to take the President from the hotel by sending a team, when he could easily neutralize the President with an assassination he could carry out with his close protection. Especially attempting a coup is complete nonsense.' He is a smart man. Muhsin Kutsi Barış (former Presidential Guard Regiment Commander) also explained in his defense how easily this could have been handled from his perspective if he had wanted to. It is not normal for the community, whose last resort is to stage a coup, to attempt a coup with 1-2 percent of its power. What has been done to İmamoğlu and the CHP since March 19 is obvious. These attacks, carried out by pressing all buttons in response to the risk of losing the election, are the best example of what can be done in a life-or-death matter. The government is not acting with 1-2 percent of its power; it is in action with all its might. Someone who is about to lose everything does what is necessary just like this. Not like the community, or supposedly us, did on July 15."

HE ACCUSED AKAR, ÜNAL, AND GÜLER

While accusing the command echelon of the period and the Undersecretary of MIT, Evrim made the following claims:

"We were blacklisted with the unlawful, evidence-free lists of Şirin Ünal, Ahmet Zeki Üçok, Kenan Kenan, and the President of the State Supervisory Council, alongside MIT. Hulusi Akar, Abidin Ünal, and Yaşar Güler's names were also on these lists. The commanders were blackmailed with, 'Either you support the project, or we will process you for FETÖ and put you in prison.' The appointment list was published on the order of Yaşar Güler. The aide-de-camp Major Mehmet Akkurt, who conveyed the order, was killed in the clash that night. Akar and Fidan supposedly could not receive news of the coup, could not stop the personnel who carried out the coup, and the President was subjected to an assassination attempt; but neither of them was dismissed due to their failures; on top of that, they were made ministers and are still held in high regard. I wonder why? Hulusi Akar knew about the coup. He is still lying. He should have been tried here with us. He must have performed a very important service to be protected. As for Abidin Ünal; he did not stand by his many innocent personnel, including military students, and he stabbed his 45-year-old comrade-in-arms in the back and sold him out in this case. By making Hulusi Akar and Abidin Ünal rivals against each other regarding the Chief of General Staff position, they made them agree to the plan through blackmail. Abidin Ünal went to the Palace secretly to meet with the President and was caught by Hulusi Akar. When Hulusi Akar played the role expected of him well, he was kept in office by saying, 'You don't change horses in midstream,' and was made a minister. The horse to be changed was Hulusi Akar, and the horse to do the changing was Abidin Ünal. If they hadn't helped the coup so much, it would not have been possible for them to remain in their positions. Abidin Ünal sent Akın Öztürk to Akıncı immediately after speaking with MIT member Sadık Üstün on the phone at 23:17, even though he knew about the coup. The first person who came to Hulusi Akar's mind was Akın Öztürk. While at Akıncı, for some reason, he immediately called for Akın Öztürk. Can there be this many coincidences? Both of them knowingly brought Akın Öztürk and made him the candidate for the number 1 of the coup. By being killed, the crime of the coup was intended to be pinned on him and us, and the incident was intended to be covered up. Akar and Ünal sold out all personnel, and especially Akın Öztürk, for the sake of their own ambitions. The bill for the power struggle between them was paid by Akın Öztürk, who had no authority at that moment, and by us. If we were coup plotters, neither Akar nor Ünal nor Fidan would be left."

WHAT IS IN THE AKINCI FOOTAGE?

Hakan Evrim, who claimed that there were planes that landed at Akıncı Base on the night of July 15 without contacting the tower and by turning off their lights, that retired pilots and a group of about 200 masked, fully equipped people were seen at the base, that the reason for the presence of these people and the 250-300 long-barreled weapons received the next day was not investigated, and that the digital evidence, which is the only tangible information about him, was also tampered with, said, "One-third of the Akıncı footage was brought. Why? I think there were things they would hide, people they didn't want to be seen. Let the HTS records of Akıncı and Marmaris between 17:00 and 06:00 be brought, and let everything come to light."

Evrim concluded his defense as follows:

"We are the victims of this trap. Thousands of innocent people were purged, and three times as many personnel from the supporters were hired in their place. Let the messages between the previous court president Oğuz Dik and the politicians be revealed; there will be no need for anything else. An indictment needs to be written that will ensure this case is completely overturned and the real culprits are tried."

His son, İlhan Evrim, who undertook Hakan Evrim's defense, stated that he could not attend his father's previous defenses because he was a student at the time, and made an emotional statement. When Atty. Evrim said, "I think my father is innocent. I cannot be objective, but life is not objective either," he was applauded by the defendants.

Müyesser YILDIZ

November 18, 2025

News Source: 12punto