Erdem Diker was martyred at Sabiha Gökçen Airport during the malicious coup attempt on July 15th. He found out about the coup attempt around 11:30 and went out with his sister Elvan. At the time Diker went out, President Erdoğan hadn’t made his call to go out on TV yet.
Erdem organized with his friends and set off towards Sabiha Gökçen Airport. He ran into injured policemen while walking in the front line of the crowd. While trying to help policemen, he said to his friend on the phone, “I cannot come, there are lots of casualties, and we need to get them up.” It was in that moment when he was talking to his friend on the phone that he was shot dead and died as a martyr. After the autopsy, he was buried in his hometown Niksar, Tokat on July 17th.
Dying as a martyr at the age of 30, Erdem had been operating an iron joinery shop in İstanbul. He had moved to İstanbul after he lost his mother. Telling his wife that he missed his mother who had passed away while he was serving in the military, he died on the same day his mother had.
Martyr Erdem Diker was married and had a 1-year-old child.
