The episode, titled “This time a lieutenant colonel speaks,” was the ninth installment of Nesin’s “Statements of the exiled colonel” series. The program focused on orders sent to ships, how and when those orders arrived, claims that some people changed their statements and what allegedly happened during police questioning after the coup attempt.
Nesin presented the episode as part of a broader effort to examine the military, political and media dimensions of July 15 from the perspective of officers who challenge the official account.
Ankara blames the coup attempt on the Gülen movement, a transnational civic initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, and designates the movement as a terrorist organization. The movement denies involvement.
Captain’s account from a naval vessel
According to the program description, the episode centered on the statements of a lieutenant colonel who commanded one of the ships at sea during the events of July 15.
The description said viewers would hear how orders reached the ship, when they were sent and how the crew understood the situation as events unfolded.
The framing placed the ship captain’s account within a larger discussion of the Turkish Navy’s contested role that night, especially the question of whether some vessels and crews were placed in circumstances later used to accuse them of involvement in the coup attempt.
Questions over changed statements
The program also asked who changed their statements after July 15.
This question suggested that Demirtaş and Nesin discussed possible inconsistencies between early statements, later police or prosecutor records and courtroom accounts.
Such claims have been a recurring theme in Nesin’s series, which argues that the post-coup legal process relied on narratives shaped after the fact and that some testimony may have been altered under pressure or through official intervention.
What happened at police headquarters?
The episode description also referred to events at the police stage of the process, asking what happened in custody and during questioning.
Without the full transcript, the specific allegations cannot be summarized beyond the supplied material. But the description makes clear that the program treated police procedures as part of the contested post-coup record, especially in cases involving naval officers and ships at sea.
‘Deniers’ and those accused of setting traps
The program description asked who denied events and who allegedly set traps.
That framing reflected the series’ broader claim that some officers were drawn into events through misleading orders, document manipulation or later changes to official statements.
Nesin and Demirtaş presented the discussion as a way to show viewers “an angle” they had not previously seen and to challenge the version of events promoted by Turkey’s government-controlled media.
Series promises continued scrutiny
The episode was part of Nesin’s continuing interview series with Demirtaş on the period before and after the coup attempt.
Nesin said the series would continue until all facts about July 15 were revealed, urging viewers to follow and share the interviews.
The video below presents Ahmet Nesin’s interview with Col. Hüseyin Demirtaş on the account of a lieutenant colonel who commanded a ship on July 15, the timing of orders, changed statements, police questioning and claims that some naval personnel were caught in a trap.
