An indictment has been prepared for 27 putschist soldiers that abducted Secretary General of Presidency Fahri Kasırga on the night of the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
Twenty-seven Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ)-linked soldiers took Kasırga hostage on July 15, 2016 after receiving orders from the putschists. The Ankara Prosecutor's Office demanded three aggravated life sentences for the 27 putschist soldiers.Details of the indictment were shared yesterday in Turkish media outlets. According to Kasırga's testimony, he was blindfolded and the putschist soldiers tied his hands. "They cuffed my feet as well," he said. Kasırga also said he reached out to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the night of the coup attempt, saying the situation looks bad. "Our president instructed me to go to the Presidential Palace and manage the operation from there," he said. The secretary general also asserted in his testimony that he told the putschist Gülenist soldiers to shoot him dead after hearing that they were attempting a coup d'etat. The attempted coup by the Gülenist faction within the Turkish military to overthrow the democratically elected president and government began at around 10 p.m. local time on July 15, but it was defeated after people took to the streets upon President Erdoğan's call to protect their democracy.
On July 16, the attempt was mostly thwarted by 8 p.m., although the threat of new waves remained serious. At least 246 people were killed by the putschist FETÖ soldiers and 20 pro-coup servicemen were killed and more than 2,100 injured.
According to the government, the coup was organized by followers of U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, who is accused of pursuing a long-running campaign to overthrow the government through supporters within the Turkish state, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
