The episode, titled “The report that collapses the July 15 plot,” was broadcast on March 23, 2019, as part of Aytav’s “Sıcak Gündem” program. It featured journalists Doğan Ertuğrul and Cevheri Güven in a discussion focused on unanswered questions in the Akıncı case.
The program asked why retired pilots were present at Akıncı Air Base on the night of the coup attempt and how civilians were able to enter the base, issues that the participants said were not properly examined by prosecutors or the court.
It also pointed to claims that about 300 long-barreled weapons were found at Akıncı but were not investigated. The program said statements were not taken from guard personnel at the base gates, despite their potential importance in determining who entered and left the facility that night.
Another focus was the claim that the events at the 143rd Squadron were directed from a teachers’ mess hall inside the base. The program said no proper examination was conducted at that location, even though it could have clarified who was coordinating activity there.
The participants also discussed allegations that aircraft took off from the base that night with their lights turned off. According to the program, there were 77 aircraft at Akıncı Air Base during the coup attempt, yet 11 of them were not examined.
For the participants, the lack of scrutiny was not a minor procedural failure but part of a broader pattern. They argued that the judiciary was not pursuing evidence that could complicate the official narrative.
The program said the issue was not a lack of questions but an unwillingness to ask them.
“There is no question mark here,” the program description said. “Trials are being conducted to reach predetermined conclusions.”
The video below presents the discussion on Akıncı Air Base, the unexamined weapons and aircraft, the role of civilians and retired pilots and the evidence the participants say was ignored in Turkey’s coup trials.
