Hürriyet daily columnist Ertuğrul Özkök has challenged conflicting accounts of the warning delivered to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) hours before the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
A report published by Yeni Şafak quoted pilot Maj. O.K. as saying he arrived at MİT headquarters at approximately 2:20 p.m. after another officer told him about a planned operation to abduct intelligence chief Hakan Fidan. According to the reported testimony, O.K. warned MİT officials that the activity could be part of a coup.
On May 26, however, fellow Hürriyet columnist Mehmet Y. Yılmaz said an unnamed General Staff official had called him to dispute that account. The official claimed O.K. had mentioned only an operation involving three helicopters and a plan to abduct or assassinate Fidan — not a possible coup.
Özkök said that explanation conflicted with Fidan’s subsequent conduct. While meeting Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, Fidan called the head of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s security detail and asked whether Erdoğan’s location could be protected.
“If there was no possibility of a coup, and the person facing abduction was the intelligence chief, why was the president the person they sought to protect?” Özkök asked.
He called the anonymous official’s explanation inadequate and urged the officer to identify himself and provide a full account. The contradiction leaves a critical question unanswered: What did MİT and the military leadership understand about the warning before the coup attempt began?
