Questions about failed coup remain unanswered 8 years later because 'the government and opposition parties want it that way'

Eight years after the failed assassination attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, important questions remain unanswered. A woman who lost her son and husband that night expressed frustration at the lack of transparency and accountability, saying that both the ruling and opposition parties have a vested interest in maintaining the mystery of what really happened that night.

The coup attempt was widely believed to be a false flag operation aimed at consolidating President Recep Tayyip Erdoan's authoritarian rule by rooting out dissidents and eliminating powerful actors such as the military in his drive for absolute power.

The failed coup left 251 dead and over a thousand injured. The next morning, after announcing the coup's suppression, the Turkish government immediately launched a massive purge of military officers, judges, police officers, teachers and other civil servants, which eventually led to the dismissal of over 130,000 people.

On the night of the failed coup, President Erdoğan immediately accused the Glen movement of being behind the attempt. He has been targeting followers of the movement, a religious group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Glen, since the corruption investigations conducted from December 17 to 25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members and close entourage.

Erdoğan called the investigations a coup and a plot by the Glenists against his government. He labeled the movement a terrorist organization and began targeting its members. He imprisoned thousands of people, including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigation, as well as journalists who reported on it.

Erdoan has stepped up his crackdown on the movement following the coup attempt. Glen and the movement strongly deny any involvement in the failed coup or any terrorist activity.

Nihal Olok, who lost her ex-husband Erol Olok, a prominent publicist for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and her 16-year-old son Abdullah on the night of the coup, remains a vocal critic of the government and opposition's handling of the incident.

“This night is still dark for me. Nothing has been clarified for eight years,” she said in an interview with the news website Krs TV.

Olok criticised political leaders for their inaction, saying: “No politician has addressed this issue and it seems that none will. The opposition has also done nothing. It seems to be a state project, a systematic thing where everyone got what they wanted. The powerful clashed and the people were trampled.”

In July 2023, former Brigadier General Gkhan ahin Snmezate, testifying at a coup trial in Ankara, offered a view consistent with Olok’s claims. Snmezate, who commanded a team that attacked President Erdoğan’s hotel on the night of the coup and is serving multiple aggravated life sentences, claimed that the coup was not orchestrated by the Glen movement but was a “state conspiracy.” He described the event as a “revolution” organized by his commanders and implicated senior military and intelligence officials, including then-Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar. Snmezate argued that the truth behind the coup would remain hidden until key figures such as Akar, then-deputy chief of staff Yaar Gler and then-National Intelligence Organization (MT) chief Hakan Fidan testify.

Olok also highlighted the lack of significant testimony, including that of Fidan.

“After eight years, the observation is emptiness… nothingness. I don't think there's anything we can do to clarify this now, because the trials are over,” she said.

A parliamentary inquiry committee abruptly suspended work on a report into the 2017 coup attempt after Erdoğan expressed disapproval of the deeper investigations.

In July 2021, Seluk zda, then deputy chairman of the committee, said that Turkish authorities had refrained from publishing the investigation's findings, following a legal opinion warning that the report could help members of the Glen movement in their future compensation claims.

“If this treacherous coup attempt is fully exposed, it will cause the most devastating earthquake in our political history. That is why it remains in the shadows,” said MP Aykut Erdodu of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), a member of the parliamentary inquiry committee, on Monday.

Olok also criticized the opposition, accusing it of inaction. “The opposition has done nothing to shed light on the events of July 15. Everyone has an interest in keeping it in the shadows,” she said.

Recalling the aftermath of the coup attempt, Olok found the rapid appearance of billboards glorifying resistance alarming.

“The billboards shocked me. On the morning of July 16, they were everywhere. How could they have been prepared and installed so quickly? No one could have done it without his help. [Erol Olok’s] awareness.”

Erdoğan has consistently denied that the coup was orchestrated by his government. On the eighth anniversary of the coup, he visited the July 15 Martyrs' Memorial and reiterated his position.

“Those who call July 15 a scenario or shamelessly claim that it was a staged fight will never be forgiven,” Erdoan said, denying accusations of a false flag operation.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Mamolu, speaking at an event commemorating the crushing of the July 15 putsch, criticized the lack of accountability of those who facilitated the conditions for the coup.

“The people who implemented the policies that paved the way for the coup have not been adequately accountable to our nation,” he said.

CHP leader Zgr Zel reflected on the collective effort to resist the coup.

“That night, the entire Turkish nation and parliament supported democracy,” he said in a live broadcast on Habertrk channel.

Mr Zel detailed the events of that night, including the decision to keep parliament open despite the danger. He praised the unity displayed by the various political factions and called for continued vigilance against anti-democratic threats.

Since the failed coup of July 2016, Turkish authorities have continued a massive crackdown on followers of the Glen religious movement.

Justice Minister Ylmaz Tun reported last week that 705,172 people have been investigated for terrorism or coup-related charges due to alleged links to the movement.

Tun provided figures on Glen-related investigations and prosecutions that continue unabated despite multiple rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in favour of Glen supporters who were remanded in custody or convicted of terrorism charges after the coup attempt.

Tun said there are currently 13,251 people in prison who are on remand or convicted of terrorism charges in Glen-related trials.

Tens of thousands of people arrested in the post-coup crackdown and convicted of terrorism have been released from prison over the years after serving their sentences.

These individuals were convicted of terrorism simply because of acts such as using a mobile application known as ByLock; belonging to a union and an association affiliated with the Glen movement; having an account at the now-closed Bank Asya; sending their children to Glen-related schools; or subscribing to Glen-related publications, all of which are considered signs of belonging to the Glen movement and criminal evidence.

According to the ECHR rulings, the use of ByLock, once widely available online and considered a secret communication tool among Glen supporters, does not constitute reliable evidence or a criminal offence.

The Turkish government has also been active on the international stage, seeking the extradition of Fethullah Glen and other supporters from various countries. Minister Tun noted that Turkey has submitted seven extradition requests to the United States for Glen, on 27 charges primarily related to the coup attempt. However, these requests remain unanswered, with U.S. officials citing insufficient evidence of Glen’s involvement.

Turkey has also filed 1,774 extradition requests to 115 countries, resulting in the deportation or extradition of 132 Glen followers. Despite these efforts, 427 extradition requests have been rejected, and Tun has criticized the United States and European countries for their indifference, accusing them of harboring individuals Turkey labels as terrorists. Thousands of Glen followers have sought asylum in Western countries, where the Glen movement is not recognized as a terrorist organization, allowing them to continue their activities.