Putschist commando FETÖ member since 1995

An Underwater Offence Team (SAT) commando who was involved in the failedcoup attempt on July 15 confessed that he has been a member of the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) for 21 years.

In testimony after being arrested in an investigation launched by İrfan Fidan, the deputy chief prosecutor at the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office, Sergeant Kenan Ceylan said that he joined the FETÖ in 1995. "I am a frogman trainer in the SAT Commandership. I joined the FETÖ in 1995 by going to their houses in Yenibosna [in Istanbul]. I was in the U.S. in 2011 for education," he said about his involvement in the coup attempt.

"Staff Lieutenant Commander Hakan Egemen called me on July 15 and said: 'Come to the SAT Commandership at dusk. There is a very important mission.' I went there at 10:00 p.m. They took us into a hall. It was very crowded. Egemen said: 'Tonight, a coup will take place, and we will protect our commanders. We will never harm anyone.'

"Meanwhile, some personnel received a WhatsApp message saying the bridges on the Bosporus were closed and tanks were en route. Then things got more stirred up. We left with our weapons. Our mission was to be in Beylerbeyi, but we did not go there. I left them midway and returned to my commandership. I never participated in an action."

Land Forces commander: Top deputy general's aide organized hostage event

A Land Forces commander who was captured by the putschists during the coup attempt said Bünyamin Tuner, executive assistant of Deputy Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler, organized their being taken hostage.

Testifying about the event, Salih Zeki Çolak said when he arrived at the General Staff building he heard sounds of heavy gunfire but could not figure out the reason due to the darkness that night.

"Until that moment, I thought that the General Staff building was being attacked from outside and that soldiers in the building were protecting it. We, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. İhsan Uyar and Major Yunus Can, immediately entered the building," he said, and added that he and his colleagues were caught and forced to lie on the ground by several people from a Special Forces team that were holding weapons.

"They pointed their guns at us. They yelled at us and said: 'Do not move, we are doing this for your security.' We guessed that these people were from Special Forces since these expressions are typically used by them." He said that later on they were brought to Güler's office and they were handcuffed after sitting on the ground for around 35 minutes with their hands tied. "I saw that it was all organized by Colonel Bünyamin Tüner, executive assistant of the deputy chief of General Staff.