During the trial concerning events at Akıncı Air Base, which prosecutors described as the command center of Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt, former senior chief sergeant Abdullah Erdoğan, a noncommissioned officer who served on the protection detail for then Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, gave his defense and described his account of the night.
Erdoğan claimed that Akar was not taken to the base by force, directly challenging the official account that Turkey’s top military commander was held hostage by coup plotters. His testimony conflicts with Ankara’s narrative of the events and raises questions about the role of senior military figures during the failed coup.
In his defense, Erdoğan argued that Akar was not taken to Akıncı Air Base against his will, saying, “I did nothing outside the commander’s orders.”
Providing information about his professional background and protection duties, Erdoğan said he had worked as a close protection officer for Akar since 2011. He said he came to his regular shift on the day of the coup attempt and escorted Akar to General Staff headquarters without incident.
“Around 9 p.m., I went up to the command floor to take over protection guard duty. I did not observe any abnormality during the watch. There was the usual traffic of personnel coming to brief our chief of general staff. Around 9:30 p.m., a group of Special Forces personnel entered the command floor. I left the guard room and asked why they had come. They said they were assigned from the Special Forces Command, had come for the commander’s safety and had been ordered to secure the commander during his transfer.
“Five to 10 minutes later, Chief Sgt. Muharrem Uzun from the protection team came to me and said the commander could leave, that there was intelligence about a terrorist attack on the headquarters and that the Special Forces personnel had come as support. At that time, there was talk of terrorism intelligence targeting the General Staff. I reported the situation to the Protection Operations Center by radio and asked the personnel to remain on alert.”
“THE COMMANDER LEFT THE OFFICE WITH MEHMET DİŞLİ”
Erdoğan said the office door opened while he was waiting in the corridor.
“The commander left the office with Maj. Gen. Mehmet Dişli. At the same time, the Special Forces team in the corridor also got ready for protection duty. The commander clearly ordered me, ‘Do not forget my hat and glasses, let’s go,’ and started walking down the stairs. I moved with the commander and followed right behind him. The aide-de-camp ordered from behind, ‘You are going with the commander, stay in touch by phone,’ and another member of the personnel brought the hat and glasses. We headed to the helicopter that had landed in the front yard of the General Staff, staying very close to the commander along with the protection personnel, and took off without wasting time.”
“AN AIR FORCE MAJOR GENERAL GREETED THE COMMANDER WITH A STATUS REPORT”
Erdoğan said they landed at Akıncı Air Base about 20 minutes later.
“We arrived in front of the base headquarters in the vehicle waiting for us. A few personnel in front of the headquarters saluted the commander, and the commander replied, ‘Good evening.’ He entered the base commander’s office with Mehmet Dişli. In the executive office, an Air Force major general greeted the commander by giving a status report. I entered the office, took the commander’s cap and coat, and went back out to the corridor. I stood guard in the corridor all night.”
“GENERALS GAVE STATUS REPORTS AND SALUTED EVERY TIME THEY ENTERED THE OFFICE”
Erdoğan said Gen. Akın Öztürk arrived in the following minutes and entered Akar’s office.
“Upon the commander’s orders, I occasionally served coffee, nuts, water and other refreshments in the office. In the following minutes, an Air Force major general and a rear admiral came to the office. They left after a while. Throughout the night, upon the commander’s orders, Gen. Mehmet Dişli went somewhere and came back four or five times. Similarly, the Air Force major general and Gen. Akın Öztürk also went back and forth a few times. The generals gave status reports and saluted every time they entered the office.”
“THE COMMANDER HAD THE RESIDENCE CONNECTED AND SPOKE WITH HIS WIFE”
Erdoğan said Akar at one point had a call connected to his residence and spoke with his wife.
“Gen. Mehmet Dişli also occasionally contacted the headquarters upon the commander’s orders and then gave a status report to the commander. In this way, arrivals, departures and briefings to the chief of general staff continued throughout the night. Sometime after Akın Öztürk and the other generals left the office, around 4:30 a.m., the commander came out of the office and gave me the order, ‘Where are they, my son? Reach out to them so they can come,’ and he himself continued down the corridor.
“Later, around 7 a.m., Gen. Mehmet Dişli told me, ‘The commander is going to leave.’ He called the headquarters, got the phone numbers of the president, the prime minister and the undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization, and entered the office again. A while later, he gave the phone to the commander outside and had him make some calls. Then he said, ‘We are going to the Prime Ministry.’”
“HE TOLD AKIN ÖZTÜRK TO STAY HERE”
Erdoğan claimed that while walking to the helicopter, Akar turned to Öztürk and said, “You stay here, I will have you picked up.”
“He turned to Gen. Mehmet Dişli and said, ‘Let’s go.’ I opened the vehicle door and helped the chief of general staff into the car. He ordered me, ‘Contact the headquarters, direct the official vehicle and the protection vehicles to the Prime Ministry. You return to the headquarters in a vehicle from here.’ I said, ‘Commander, let me establish contact and come with you.’ He ordered, ‘You cannot talk on the phone in the helicopter. Establish contact from here, do not let them be late.’ I went inside, called the aide-de-camp’s office and informed them that the commander had gone to the Prime Ministry.”
“I DID WHATEVER THE COMMANDER ORDERED”
Erdoğan said the base was later bombed and that he was detained in the evening.
“In fact, on the day of the July 15 coup attempt, I did nothing different from what I had done during my 18 years of professional life. I did whatever my duty required. On the night of the coup attempt, I did whatever the chief of general staff of the Republic of Turkey, Gen. Hulusi Akar, ordered. I did not act contrary to his orders.”
“I DO NOT ACCEPT THE ACCUSATIONS”
Erdoğan also rejected accusations that he was a member of the movement led by Fethullah Gülen and that he acted together with soldiers accused of forcibly detaining Akar and taking him to Akıncı Air Base.
“This is completely unfounded and baseless. Everything that happened at the headquarters and at Akıncı Air Base that night took place under Gen. Akar’s orders. Under these circumstances, the claim that a person was detained is absurd. I reject this claim in the strongest terms and absolutely do not accept it.”
“IS THE COMMANDER TELLING THE TRUTH OR ARE YOU?”
Erdoğan answered questions after his defense.
Asked whether he was unaware of the coup attempt, Erdoğan said he did not realize there was a coup attempt until the morning.
He was also asked about Akar’s testimony, which contradicted his account.
“Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar states the exact opposite of what you are describing in his testimony. He says you and Capt. Serdar were also in the room and that you were constantly watching. Are you lying or is he?”
“I am telling the truth,” Erdoğan replied.
In response to another question, Erdoğan said Akar had spoken with Hakan Fidan, then undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization, until late the previous night after attending a graduation ceremony at the Special Forces Command.
