In Istanbul coup trial, police officers make excuses, curse FETÖ
The week-long trial of 29 police officers, accused of disobeying orders to resist the July 15 coup attempt blamed on the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), continued as the defendants denied charges and offered excuses on why they had not faced the pro-coup troops.
The trial, held at a courthouse inside the massive prison complex in Istanbul's Silivri district, was first of several trials on the coup attempt quelled by civilians, police and anti-coup troops.
The sued members of the police face multiple life sentences for allegedly aiding the putsch attempt, FETÖ membership and urging others not to resist the soldiers who killed 248 people across Turkey, on that fateful night.
Since the first hearing, the officers have denied links to FETÖ and claimed they were not aware of ByLock, an app found in their cellphones was almost exclusively being used by members of the terrorist group for encrypted communication. Some of them also claimed that they had family members to attend to while others said they were not assigned by their superiors to resist the coup attempt, contrary to the fact that the country's leaders and the head of Istanbul police were among the senior figures who urged the public to confront the pro-coup troops.
Cengiz Çalık, who was released pending trial after his detention in the wake of the coup attempt, claimed he was the victim of a plot by pro-FETÖ police officers for his work against the terrorist group. FETÖ, an unconventional terrorist group, has its infiltrators in law enforcement, army and the judiciary.
Çalık said he was on duty during the coup attempt, working on a case against FETÖ, and was resting at home when Turkey first learned about the coup attempt. He, however, acknowledged that he had sent a message to his wife saying he didn't go to work after learning about the coup.
Another defendant, Cem Günerhan, a deputy commissioner, said he was not aware of a coup up until midnight, hours after the country learned a coup attempt was afoot. He claimed that he had to take care of his ailing mother thus did not report at the police station when he was summoned to help fight the coup.
Soytürk Yıldız, a police chief at the city's Şenlikköy district, denounced FETÖ, saying, "May Allah curse them," and rejected charges of aiding the pro-coup troops brought against him. He cited illness as a reason for not being at the police station during the coup attempt.
He also denied charges that he possessed information on some 11,000 individuals on a USB drive and said, "It must have been downloaded from the internet while I was trying to download something else," he claimed.
Meanwhile, Eyüp Şahin, who used to head a motorcycle unit of the police, claimed he downloaded ByLock but never used it.
The trial, held at a courthouse inside the massive prison complex in Istanbul's Silivri district, was first of several trials on the coup attempt quelled by civilians, police and anti-coup troops.
The sued members of the police face multiple life sentences for allegedly aiding the putsch attempt, FETÖ membership and urging others not to resist the soldiers who killed 248 people across Turkey, on that fateful night.
Since the first hearing, the officers have denied links to FETÖ and claimed they were not aware of ByLock, an app found in their cellphones was almost exclusively being used by members of the terrorist group for encrypted communication. Some of them also claimed that they had family members to attend to while others said they were not assigned by their superiors to resist the coup attempt, contrary to the fact that the country's leaders and the head of Istanbul police were among the senior figures who urged the public to confront the pro-coup troops.
Cengiz Çalık, who was released pending trial after his detention in the wake of the coup attempt, claimed he was the victim of a plot by pro-FETÖ police officers for his work against the terrorist group. FETÖ, an unconventional terrorist group, has its infiltrators in law enforcement, army and the judiciary.
Çalık said he was on duty during the coup attempt, working on a case against FETÖ, and was resting at home when Turkey first learned about the coup attempt. He, however, acknowledged that he had sent a message to his wife saying he didn't go to work after learning about the coup.
Another defendant, Cem Günerhan, a deputy commissioner, said he was not aware of a coup up until midnight, hours after the country learned a coup attempt was afoot. He claimed that he had to take care of his ailing mother thus did not report at the police station when he was summoned to help fight the coup.
Soytürk Yıldız, a police chief at the city's Şenlikköy district, denounced FETÖ, saying, "May Allah curse them," and rejected charges of aiding the pro-coup troops brought against him. He cited illness as a reason for not being at the police station during the coup attempt.
He also denied charges that he possessed information on some 11,000 individuals on a USB drive and said, "It must have been downloaded from the internet while I was trying to download something else," he claimed.
Meanwhile, Eyüp Şahin, who used to head a motorcycle unit of the police, claimed he downloaded ByLock but never used it.