A TR724 video published on July 14, 2021, revisited one of the most sensitive unanswered questions from Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt: who killed the civilians who died that night.
The video argued that civilian deaths cannot be fully understood through the official narrative alone and focused on claims that some people were shot by armed civilians or unidentified shooters rather than by soldiers accused in coup trials.
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.
Video links July 15 deaths to unidentified armed actors
The TR724 video used archival footage, courtroom references and witness-style accounts to suggest that armed civilians were present at some critical locations during the night.
One segment referred to people known to have gone to İstanbul’s Vatan Avenue, where the police headquarters is located, while armed. The video also mentioned figures said to have been close to Islamist or pro-government networks, including people connected to associations formed after Turkey’s February 28, 1997 military intervention period.
The video claimed that some former soldiers, officers or noncommissioned officers aligned with those groups had the technical knowledge to disable tanks, damage periscopes and cut fuel lines, and that they went into the streets on July 15.
The implication was that not all armed or technically capable actors on the streets that night were formal members of the military units later prosecuted as coup participants.
Witness account alleges civilian shot by man with pistol
The video included an account attributed to a person speaking in court, who said he was trying to stop another person’s bleeding when an armed man approached.
According to the account, the man had a Turkish flag on his back, a beard and a shawl-like item. He allegedly knelt, pulled a pistol from his pocket and shot the wounded civilian.
The speaker in the video said soldiers should admit who fired if they did so, but added that he would also describe what he saw.
The account was presented as part of TR724’s broader claim that some civilians may have been killed by nonmilitary actors who were never properly identified or prosecuted.
Erol Olçok and his son Abdullah
The video also referred to the deaths of Erdoğan campaign strategist Erol Olçok and his son Abdullah Tayyip Olçok on İstanbul’s Bosporus Bridge, now officially called the July 15 Martyrs Bridge.
The narration suggested that Abdullah was deliberately targeted after Erol Olçok was identified, though it did not present a full evidentiary reconstruction within the excerpt.
Footage in the video showed chaotic scenes, cries for help and attempts to transport the wounded, including calls for a car to take an injured person to the hospital.
TR724 framed the deaths as part of a larger set of unresolved questions about who fired from where, which weapons were used and why some deaths were not investigated independently from the government’s preferred narrative.
Sniper claim and distributed weapons debate
The video’s “sniper” framing reflected allegations that some July 15 deaths may have involved trained shooters or unidentified armed actors positioned outside the regular chain of events described in indictments.
The video linked that question to Peker’s later statements about weapons allegedly distributed during the July 15 period. Peker’s claims revived public debate over whether firearms were handed to civilians or political groups and whether those weapons were later recovered.
The TR724 video argued that the central question remains: If hundreds died that night, who fired the fatal shots, with what weapons and under whose command?
Official narrative challenged
The video did not deny that a violent military mobilization occurred on July 15. Instead, it challenged the official account that places responsibility for the deaths primarily on soldiers accused of taking part in the coup attempt.
TR724 argued that unexplained weapons, armed civilians, missing ballistic clarity and witness accounts of unidentified shooters should be examined as part of any credible investigation into July 15.
The video below presents TR724’s short report on sniper allegations, unidentified armed actors, the deaths of civilians and renewed questions raised after claims about weapons distributed during the July 15 period.
