Journalist Ahmet Nesin continued his interview series with exiled Col. Hüseyin Demirtaş in a February 28, 2020 program examining events before and after Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt, with a focus on what allegedly happened to Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi at Gülhane Military Medical Academy (GATA).
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.
Focus on Semih Terzi
Semih Terzi, a senior officer in Turkey’s Special Forces Command, became one of the most central and contested figures of the July 15 narrative after he was shot dead by noncommissioned officer Ömer Halisdemir at the Special Forces headquarters in Ankara.
In the official account, Terzi was a coup participant whose killing helped prevent the putschists from taking control of the Special Forces Command. Critics of the official narrative have questioned parts of that account, including the chain of command, the timing of events and what happened to Terzi’s body afterward.
The Ahmet Nesin program framed GATA, Turkey’s former military medical academy and hospital, as a key location in that discussion. The title suggested that Demirtaş’s remarks focused on what was allegedly done to Terzi there after he was shot.
Media narrative questioned
The program description said the interview would show viewers how much they did not know and how controlled media guided and shaped public understanding of the coup attempt.
Nesin presented the conversation as part of a broader effort to revisit July 15 from angles that he said had been excluded from Turkey’s dominant media narrative.
The episode followed a recurring theme in Nesin’s July 15 coverage: that preparations, actions and post-coup procedures should be examined together rather than treated as isolated developments.
Series promises further disclosures
Nesin said the interview with Demirtaş would continue and described the colonel’s statements as likely to spark debate.
The program description said the channel would keep writing and speaking about July 15 until all facts about the coup attempt were revealed.
The video below presents Ahmet Nesin’s interview with Col. Hüseyin Demirtaş on events before and after July 15, including the disputed question of what happened to Semih Terzi at GATA.
