Turkish Foreign Minister Accused of Personally Torturing General in Secret Ankara Camp

Levent Kenez/Stockholm

A documentary recently released on the eighth anniversary of Turkey’s controversial July 15, 2016 coup attempt reveals shocking allegations against high-ranking officials. A rear admiral dismissed from the navy after the failed coup claims that the then-intelligence chief, now Turkey’s foreign minister, personally tortured a suspect.

The failed 2016 coup is widely considered a false-flag operation orchestrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, and then-military chief Hulusi Akar. Erdogan reportedly used the coup attempt as a pretext to consolidate his power, purge pro-NATO officers from the military, and launch a cross-border military incursion into Syria. He blamed Turkish Muslim theologian Fethullah Glen, who lives in the United States, for the attempt and launched a witch hunt against his supporters on dubious criminal charges. Glen has vehemently denied any role in the failed coup, and the Turkish government has so far presented no evidence linking Glen to the coup.

Mustafa Zeki Uurlu, who was stationed at NATO Allied Command Transformation (NATO ACT) headquarters in the United States on the night of July 15, 2016, made important statements in a documentary published on the Alesta YouTube channel, made by officers who were dismissed from the army and are now living abroad.

“Bring Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan and let them face one of my former classmates in the army; in half an hour, they will dismantle all their accusations regarding the coup attempt. Akar and Fidan will not be able to answer any questions because they have no valid answers,” Uurlu said.

At the end of the documentary, Uurlu asked Fidan a question. “While these generals and admirals were being tortured, did you participate in any torture? Did you bite off any of their ears?” he asked, adding, “Aren’t you afraid of the future, of the truth being revealed?” and implying to Fidan that he knew about the torture without revealing the identity of the tortured general.

The torture of officers accused of participating in the coup attempt was first revealed in a video recorded at the Ankara Police Department and published by the official Anadolu news agency just after July 15, 2016.

From that year onwards, the torture and kidnapping of critics and opponents of the government was authorized by Fidan after receiving approval from President Erdogan. Following this approval, many victims were taken to secret sites run by the Turkish intelligence agency MT, where they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

Despite mounting evidence, including numerous criminal complaints and victim statements, And Despite admissions by senior MT officials, the Erdogan government has failed to open effective investigations into torture allegations. In some cases, prosecutors appeared to be continuing investigations into the allegations, but to abandon them lateroften citing lack of evidence as a pretext. To date, no on-site inspections have been conducted at Ankara's black sites.

One of these black sites had already been exposed to the public in 2018. It is widely believed that this black site is used not only for officers but also for individuals illegally abducted abroad by MT. Located in a protected conservation area in the Turkish capital Ankara, It is located in a clandestine facility operated by WITHAbout two kilometers from President Efrom Rdogan Palace, the site functions as a secret hub for arms transfers to jihadist groups and a black site for torture.

The coordinates of the establishment are 39.92632610216299, 32.77207015662205about 230 meters from Anadolu Boulevard and 600 meters from Ankara Boulevard. In 2023, Google Maps images showed that the site remains active, with three cars parked near the gate and a checkpoint with a boom barrier about 30 meters before the main one gridThe isolation of the sites guarantees complete protection from prying public eyes.

In early 2016, the center was renovated under Fidan’s watch to house torture cells for victims abducted by MIT. The secret facility was first exposed during a 2014 criminal investigation into Turkey’s al-Qaeda network, which found it was being used to ship weapons to jihadist factions in Syria and Iraq. The Erdogan government stifled the investigation, protecting MIT operatives involved in illegal arms trafficking.

The use of the black site continues under Ibrahim Kaln, who succeeded Fidan as MT leader in June 2023. Testimonies, confessions by senior MT officials, and court documents confirm the existence of the black site at the Atatrk Forest Farm (Atatrk Orman iftlii, AO), operated by MT’s Special Operations Department, headed by Kemal Eskintan. The department employs a specialized interrogation team known for using invasive torture tactics.

Details of the site were also revealed by senior MT officials Erhan Peketin and Aydn Gnel, who were captured by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, in 2017. Peketin revealed that he saw Ayhan Oran, a former MT employee, being tortured in one of the cells in 2016. Oran, who was abducted in November 2016, remains missing. Before his disappearance, Oran left a letter for his wife stating that MT would be responsible if he went missing. The investigation was obstructed by MT.

In court testimony in 2019, former intelligence officer Vehbi Krad Akaln revealed that he was shown videos of Oran and Mesut Geer, another former MIT employee, being tortured while in detention in 2017. Akaln was forced to sign a confession under threat of severe torture. Oran’s wife filed several criminal reports and complaints, but Turkish authorities ignored her pleas, failing to conduct an effective investigation. In 2022, Turkey’s Constitutional Court acknowledged the lack of an effective investigation.

Retired intelligence officer Mehmet Eymr confirmed the existence of the black site in a 2021 interview with the T24 news website, admitting to MT's use of torture and saying that current methods are far more severe, leading to deaths and disappearances, including in the case of Orans.

In July 2017, an anonymous Twitter user, now X, with the handle Mehul Kayk (@kayikci06), who claimed to be an MIT employee, revealed details about the black site and torture practices. The whistleblower expressed remorse for his involvement in kidnappings, torture, and the transfer of weapons to jihadists. He revealed that the interrogation rooms at the black sites had been designed well before the failed coup of July 15, 2016, on orders from Fidan. Changes to MIT regulations made kidnappings and torture easier, and operatives were granted immunity from criminal investigation by the Erdogan government.

In 2024, investigative journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan, in a dossier downloaded A YouTube journalist revealed that Erdogan frequently visited the Ankara torture site. He even mentioned an occasion when Erdogan and his team, including Fidan, dined on game prepared by palace chefs while individuals were being held in cells below.