One of the most critical locations on the night of the coup attempt was the Çiğli 2nd Main Jet Base Command located in İzmir. The team that went to Marmaris for the assassination of President Erdogan, raided the Grand Yazici Turban Hotel. Sergeant Zekeriya Kuzu, with the nickname of Paşa, who is in the assassination squad, is one of the prominent names among the putschists. Kuzu and his crew, who escaped to the woods after the raid had failed, could not be found for days. After the investigations were made, it was revealed that Kuzu was the imam of Çiğli Main Jet Base, and he was caught with the 7 coup plotters that were with him in the culvert, on the main road in the Çetibeli Region of Marmaris.
Sergeant Zekeriya Kuzu’s who was arrested on charges of violating the Constitution, of attempting to assassinate and physically assault the President, of personally administering the assassination attempt, of committing crimes against the legislative body, of committing crimes against the government, of establishing or managing a terrorist organization, and of murder, gave the following statement to the prosecutor’s office:
"I had contact with the parallel structure in 2007"
Zekeriya Kuzu, who expressed that he contacted with FETÖ in 2007, said the following:
"I had contact with the parallel structure in 2007. It was getting information from me through this person about the staff from time to time. We were meeting at my house or at his house. The petty officers would tell me about their requests and complaints and I would convey them to the base commander. The information he (the person in FETÖ) gave me would often be accurate. He would tell me, 'Even if we see each other outside, we will pretend like we don’t know each other.' He also said, ‘Talking through phone is problematic, negotiations will be made face to face.'
"I was asking them about the staff change"
"When the base commander told me to 'change the position of a staff member,' I was consulting to this person. And I was putting forward the person he suggested. Only Colonel Tosun was resisting. He was giving me advice and saying things like 'do not stand out too much at work, don’t show your hand'. I was telling him about all sorts of things that happened at the base.
"There is a top PKK representative, we will take him in"
Kuzu, who said that approximately one week prior to the coup attempt, Major General Sönmezateş, who is arrested now, had said, “There is a mission in the Southeast regions for you”, also he said that the base commander Ramazan Elmas called him and Major Taner (Taner Berber) to his room on Friday, at about 5 pm, and that Major General Sönmezateş who was also in the room, told them that there will be a task and that he might also need them.
Kuzu, who said that they prepared 50 people for MAK team upon the request of Sönmezateş, also reported Taner Binbaşı saying, "We do not have enough staff and we will need some help from you". Kuzu, who said that they showed a photo taken from above in which a place was marked with a red pen and said, "Here we have the top PKK representative and we will take him in." he also said the following:
"Commander Gökhan said ‘You will take the President and you will come back’”
"Commander Gökhan said ‘the team that is on its way already knows what to do, you will be providing supportive force”. Meanwhile, the guests coming from Istanbul arrived with a helicopter. They were 14 of them. They were all camouflaged. None of them had any equipment. After someone named Major Şükrü asked “Is this all the equipment?”, everyone started to get their equipment. There was a discussion with the pilots before the helicopter took off. Commander Gökhan said 'I am here on behalf of the Chief of General Staff. You will take the President and you will come back.”
They took the wallets and money from the martyr police officers
Kuzu reported that Major Şükrü, who was leading the operation, was addressed as “Barbaros” and he said the following in this statement: " Major Şükrü said, ‘One of the helicopters will remain in the air and if someone shoots, it will shoot back.' The helicopter landed at a distance of about 100 meters. They came to the hotel by hiding behind the walls. Civilians were sent away. Suddenly, an armed conflict took place. We were lead by Lieutenant Mehmet. Major Şükrü said ‘I am launching a rocket’. However I saw him throwing an assault hand grenade. There was Major Şükrü, Captain İsmail, and Captain Mustafa Serdar in the front line. They were all wearing masks. There was something like a lobby. They shattered the window and threw hand grenades in. The people next to us were saying, 'Do not stand still, shoot at your surroundings'.
Major Taner Berber's statement to the prosecutor's office:
"Petty Officer Senior Master Sergeant Zekeriya came to the lobby of the hotel and said," Where is he? Where did you hide him? ". When we learned that the President was not in the hotel, we ran into the woods behind the hotel. "
They brought the people inside next to us, making them crawl, and they even fired a gun next to someone's head. Şükrü Major said, ‘Go in and take all the weapons there is.' He took a gun with a long barrel and a few guns and night vision binoculars. He also took the money and the wallets of the cops lying on the ground. In the woods, we saw that the money we took was around 1500 Turkish Liras. Şükrü Major said, ‘We’ll pay this back later, pray for the dead'. We went into the woods after we jumped from the wall of the hotel next to us at the beach. "
"I guess everyone was in the mission movement"
Kuzu, who said that at the resting area, Captain İsmail asked, "Is everyone here in the mission movement?" and that no one objected, he also said that "I guess everybody was in the mission movement.” Kuzu also said, “Captain İsmail and Major Şükrü said ‘If we get caught, they will kill us. We should stay alive no matter what happens.’ During our stay in the woods, we provided our nutritional needs with fruits. We were constantly trying to reach the settlements by following high voltage lines. "
'The Assassination Trial' has begun
The trial of the attack made on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan organized by the FETÖ assassination squad began in the Muğla Chamber of Commerce and Industry on February 20th. After the trial process that took four days, during which testimonies of twelve defendants, for whom aggravated life imprisonment was requested at least six times, were taken; Zekeriya Kuzu claimed that he had been under pressure during the interrogation at the police station, and refused everything he narrated and also his connections with FETÖ.
Rejecting all the testimonies he has previously given, Kuzu explained that the information about him being the Çiğli Imam and that his nickname was 'Commander' were fictional information created by him. When the President of the Court asked him, "did you not have a lawyer with you when you were making this testimony?" Zekeriya replied, "My lawyer was blind, he was signing anything that was put in front of him.”
Kuzu, who continued his testimony in court, said the following,
"We went to the room of Brigadier General Gökhan Sönmezateş to make a courtesy visit with Major Taner Berber. After a short chat with Sönmezateş, he asked Major Taner whether he could assemble a team of 12 people. Later on, Major Taner investigated who was at the base during that time. When he assembled a team of eleven people, I said I could join him as well. Then we left the room. I did not witness any other conversation. Later on, Major Taner said that we would perform a terrorist operation. But he did not explain what kind of terrorist organization it was. We were told that our duty there would be to provide environmental safety." The defendant Kuzu, who stated that Major Taner went to Ankara for a meeting shortly before July 15th, said, "I know Major Taner went to Ankara. But I do not know what they were talking about at that meeting. Major Taner decided on the names and called the team. Guns were given to the teams from Ankara."
He answered the question of the Chief Judge, “Did the commander of the base know about this? “With, “No, he did not.” When Chief Judge then asked, “Did you not ask them where you were going?” Kuzu replied, "I was taking orders from Major Taner. I had no idea what was happening in the country."
"I hid when they opened fire." Kuzu, who stated that they waited for a long time after they got on the helicopter, he said, "We headed towards the helicopter. We waited for a long time. Then the helicopter took off. We landed in Marmaris. We separated into groups. Special Forces were ahead of us. We were behind them as MAK teams. When we approached the target, they opened fire on us. I hid immediately. Major Şükrü said, 'If you do not get off we will launch rockets.' There was an explosion immediately after that. But I do not know if that explosion was from a rocket. I never used my weapon. I only fired two times at Çiğli. I became preoccupied with my own safety and hid. One person was brought in. Then I learned that he was a police officer and started to think. I did not know that we went to pick up the President until we got there. I heard someone saying, 'Where did the President go? Tell me, quickly.’ They were asking this to someone who was brought from inside. I was surprised when I learned about the President. Major Şükrü was holding his phone in his hands the whole time. An intense conflict began. I crawled into the hotel. Because there were bullets. Later on, I learned that the person who came was a police officer. The MAK team handcuffed him.”
Kuzu, who claimed that he was deliberately portrayed as an important person of the trial, and states that he was uncomfortable with this situation, contradicted himself by stating that he was just a petty officer, but then by also saying that he was "influencing the promotions." He also claimed in the courtroom that the one-dollar bill that was found in his wallet was not from the G series but that it was the B series, and that it was given to him by his son, who was studying abroad, as a souvenir.
"In his statement at the prosecutor's office, Kuzu said, "These dollar bills were given by a person called 'Arif'. Arif gave me a dollar bill a long time ago (in 2008 or maybe 2010) during one of the conversations we had. He told me that this money was sent by Fetullah Gülen, who is in the United States, and I shall carry this money in my wallet so that I would be blessed. And I playfully replied, "Doesn’t he have any other business besides distributing money to people?” Upon this, I started to hide the money that I received in my wallet. You can still find the bill in my wallet in the military vehicle with 621099 license plate at Çiğli 2nd Main Jet Base. After that we did not have any conversation about this money later. I have no information about the serial number of the money."
-
Former Master Sergeant Kuzu, who said, "I understood what was happening in Turkey when I was brought to the police station,” shared all the details of the attack in his statement given to the prosecutor's office, and stated that he met Brigadier General Gökhan Sahin Sönmezateş, who was told to be the leader of the team heading to assassinate President Erdoğan, when he was serving as a colonel at Çiğli 2nd Main Jet Base Command.”
In his statement at court, Kuzu defended his claim that he, “did not take any police officer's money nor his wallet," and said, "I was thinking ahead, I took a police officer’s wallet, I also took his police ID and phone to make it easier to supply a vehicle." These statements from Kuzu were recorded in an official written accusation and in the same document, it was mentioned that these words were heard by defendants Şükrü Seymen and Ismail Yiğit.
'We are called the insane team'
Zekeriya, who said in his statement that they had received heavy training for the MAK and the Special Forces, associated the MAK teams affiliated to him with insanity by saying, "We are called the insane team." Kuzu also said, "My job is to save lives, we are patriots, we die for the flag. The MAK team is willing to die for the flag.” Upon this, Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş said, "I am not from the insane team." When the President of the Court warned him, he responded, "He shall speak for himself."
"I hope Commander Ramazan will give his blessings to me"
Zekeriya Kuzu, who was asked questions about the 57 names he gave as members of FETÖ by the Chief Judge, he said, "All those names have been made up. That list was handed to me, so that I can give you those names. They made me write them under coersion.” "Kuzu, who gave information in his statement to the prosecutor’s office about the soldiers allegedly operating in FETÖ, said; "I know all of these names. I am sure that the 57 people that I mentioned are operating in this structure. And I heard that the other 23 people are in this structure, but I'm not sure."
When Colonel Ramazan Elmas, among the defendants, said that such information would be impossible to share with him, Kuzu replied, "Mr. Chairman, I hope Commander Ramazan Elmas will give his blessings to me because I also gave his name." The President of the Court said, "This is a matter between the two of you.”
Kuzu, who said that he didn’t hear the statement made by Gökhan Şahin about the coup d’état attempt at the Çiğli Base, said, "I was at the headquarters at that time. I did not hear these things in his explanation at the warehouse. I knew it was an operation against a terrorist group. I learned that we actually went to get the President only after the incident, when we escaped to a field.”
Zekeriya stated that after landing by helicopter to Marmaris, they followed the Special Forces team, he explained further, "They opened fire on us from the forest. There was a conflict for a while. They brought one person. I heard someone shouting and screaming.”
Kuzu, who did not accept the allegations of swearing and profanity to the police and the President said, "I certainly did not know about the President. I do not swear, even to my enemy. Everyone knows that. I am a person who punishes people who swear. I didn’t even touch a single officer, let alone take his wallet. One of the men put an officers belongings into a bag, and I told him to leave them on the road. The wallets were left in the bag. We realized that when we were in the field. I did not take anybody's wallet. I even found a handwritten Quran on a police officer. I became so sad. I thought to myself, we were on the same side, how did this happen?”
Zekeriya, who asserted that during the conflicts, he heard people asking questions such as ‘Where did the President go? Where is he?’ Said, "After hearing this question, I hesitated for a moment. As I am someone who has been there for many years and has supported him. But I do not know who asked the question."
Major Taner Berber's statement to the prosecutor's office:
"Petty Officer Senior Sergeant Zekeriya Kuzu came to the hotel’s lobby and shouted, "Where is he? Where did you hide him?" When we learned that the President was not in the hotel, we ran into the wooded area behind the hotel."
'I said we should surrender if necessary'
Kuzu, who said to the police officers that a team affiliated to the MAK team did it, also said, "They opened fire on us. We were under heavy fire. I told Major Taner, ‘We did not come here for such a thing. We should not fire. Let's surrender if necessary.’ I ordered my team not to open fire. I told them, ‘If you really have to shoot, aim and shoot the air.’ Nobody from our team engaged in combat with the police.”
The question ‘Is there anyone here not belonging to the community action?’ was asked.
When the President of the Court reminded him of his statement: "Is there anyone here not belonging to the community action?” Zekeriya Kuzu said, "This sentence was especially asked during my statement. The police officer that handed the phone made me say this. I did not give money to FETÖ. I only give money to mosques.
Zekeriya Kuzu, who has stated that there were some people who sided against him because he was supporting the current government, also said, “We wanted to surrender to our own troops or to gendarmerie because we thought we would face difficulties if we surrendered to the police. When Major Taner got sick, we went down to the road so that the gendarmeries could take us. I mean we successfully escaped, why would we surrender at that point? We have already left our weapons.” about the surrendering process.
"I thought about the future of my child," Zekeriya said. He went on to say that he was a religious person and he was a member of the Gray Wolves since his youth, he continued, “I have been trained to save people for 30 years. I did some very successful operations. After 2006, I became very lucky. I am a person who has proven the interests of my state with what I have lived through. Some people who acted for their personal interests made my name sound like an organization member. It was said that some people were to be kicked out of the military on August 30th. At first it was a joke, and then everyone started talking about it and it became serious."
Upon being reminded about the statement he gave at the police station about FETÖ by the Chief Judge, Zekeriya Kuzu said, “Me and my family were being threatened during my statements. Let me start with the one-dollar issue. I have two sons. One was arrested because of me when I was a specialist sergeant, and the other was not able to go abroad. My little son used to collect money. That one-dollar bill, he gave it to me. I think this is why it was in my wallet.” As a response to the question asked by the Chief Judge on whether the one-dollar bill was given by Fethullah Gülen, he replied, “The bill is from my little son, as I told you. I didn’t take it from anyone.”
Zekeriya Kuzu, who was asked about the person he mentioned as ‘Arif’ in his statement who also was claimed to have connections with FETÖ, said, I thought about the future of my child. I met this person in the private education center where my son went to school, to make sure he doesn’t engage with any drugs. I have seen him ten times or so, for the purpose of socializing. He came to our house, so I went to theirs. From time to time we would chat with Arif. I did not have religious conversations with Arif or Yavuz. Yavuz was a person I know from when I was in Konya and the newspaper Zaman would be left in his front door. That's why I said his name. I had no connections with Yavuz. Only Arif said that Fethullah Gülen used to be a nationalist in the past. I fictionalized the rest of what I said. They were the things I said from my general culture and some of the excerpts that I had in mind."
"I'm not the imam of the base"
Zekeriya Kuzu, said, against the allegations that he was the imam of the base, “I had a lot of enemies because I was the Base Sergeant. I am not the Çiğli imam. I do not accept the nickname “Commander”. I do not accept the dollar accusation, as I said. My little boy put it in my wallet for collection purposes. I am not a FETO member; I have never been at any level of it. I said what I said because of the pressure. Some of the names of 57 people mentioned in my statement were written by them at the police station. My lawyer was visually impaired. Zekeriya Kuzu argued that the news about him on the helicopter crash during which Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu lost his life was not correct.
