Zekeriya Bitmez was martyred while resisting the putschists at the Atatürk Airport, on the night of the July 15th coup attempt.
Father of four, Zekeriya, who heard about the vicious coup attempt from TV, left upon the call of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to defend the country. His wife and children were living in Malatya, while he was living in Istanbul with one of his sons. At midnight, he called his son Muhammed, and said, “We’re losing the country, get out if necessary, and die as a martyr.”
Zekeriya, who managed the Yeşilköy Sport Complex’s cantina, went to the Atatürk Airport, got on top of the tanks to resist the putschists occupying the airport, and died a martyr before he was brought to the hospital.
Father of four, 57 year old Zekeriya, had come to Istanbul to educate his children even though he was a retiree from the state railways.
“Get out and die as martyrs”
Zekeriya’s son Kadırcan, who was martyred during the coup attempt in Istanbul, reported his last call with his father as following, “On the night of July 15th, I called my father and said, ‘Father where are you? Everything is messed up.’ and he said, ‘I am at the Atatürk Airport, I am standing against them for my country.’ He asked me, ‘What are you doing right now?’ I said, ‘I am watching TV.’ Then he replied, ‘Did I raise you that way? Shame on you, get out if necessary and die a martyr.’ and hung up. Today, my father’s body was brought here.”
His daughter got accepted to university 3 days after his death
3 days after Zekeriya’s death, his daughter got her scores for university. 18 Year old Feride scored 414 points in LYS. However, her father wasn’t able to see his daughter pass the exam.
The name Zekeriya Bitmez was given to an imam hatip middle school in his hometown in Malatya.
