Attempted military coup in Turkey (2016)

The active intervention of the army in the political processes taking place within the country has always been one of the features of the history of the modern state of Turkey , which was created in 1923. The Turkish armed forces organized coups three times - in 1960 , 1971 and 1980 , and also in 1997 intervened with the help of a military memorandum ^[19] . The military historically consider themselves to be the guarantor of the Turkish state, created in accordance with the precepts of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ^[19] .

After Recep Tayyip Erdogan became Turkish Prime Minister in 2003, he began to openly pursue a reformatting of civil-military relations, during which the military were excluded from participation in the country's political life.

At the end of the so-called “peace process” with the then leaders of the Turkish Kurds, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to create a tactical alliance with the “army elite”, which he actively supplanted from the political life of the country during 2007-2008. In the fall of 2015, during the “sweeps” in the southeastern regions of Turkey, inhabited mainly by Kurds, the government gave permission to the military command to conduct military operations within the country. To create an alliance with the commanders of the Turkish Armed Forces, Erdogan acknowledged the fallacy of his previous political course to oust the military from the political events of Turkey ^[20] .

On July 13, 2016, less than two days before the coup attempt, the Turkish president signed a bill granting Turkish military immunity from prosecution while participating in internal security operations. Initiation of criminal cases against commanders is approved by the Prime Minister, and in respect of soldiers of lower rank can be signed by the governors. The immunity bill was an attempt to establish relations between the government and the armed forces, which are increasingly taking part in military operations in Kurdish areas . This bill could serve as a " trigger " for the Turkish military to the coup ^[21] .

On the evening of July 15, 2016, the first shots from a firearm were heard on the streets of the capital and Istanbul , military aircraft flew over Ankara, tanks were spotted in Istanbul ^[22] . According to eyewitnesses, gunfire was heard at Ataturk International Airport and an explosion occurred at the training center for special forces in Ankara ^[23] . At 22:49 local time, both bridges across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul (the Bosphorus Bridge and the Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge ) were blocked by the military ^{[22] [24] [25]} . The western (European) and eastern (Asian) parts of Istanbul were cut off from each other. The main artery connecting Europe and Asia was under the control of the military.

Around 00:20, the captured Turkish media ( Turkish Broadcasting Company , Dogan ) handed over a communique on the transfer of power in the country into the hands of the so-called Peace Council in order to “respect the foundations of the Constitution, democracy, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law in the country, in order to restore the lost public security ” ^[26] , on the introduction of curfews and martial law ^[27] . TRT presenter Tizhen Karash, who read the statement by the putschists live, later said that she was forced to read the message allegedly on behalf of the General Staff by people in military uniform ^[28] . A full statement by the putschists: “The Turkish armed forces fully assumed the administrative functions in the country in order to restore constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and general security that were violated. All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all our good relations with all countries will continue. ” The military promised a new constitution. Also, the putschists called Erdogan a traitor.

Prior to the military’s official statement, the following events occurred.

At 23:05, the military blocked access to the main social networks . A minute later, the putschists' combat helicopter opened fire on the National Intelligence Building. At 23:15, the tanks were transferred to Istanbul Airport. At the same time, footage of tanks appeared on the streets of Ankara on the Internet .

At 23:25, Turkish state television ceases broadcasting. At 23:29, Istanbul Ataturk Airport was closed. All flights from Istanbul Airport have been canceled. World airlines and air carriers deployed their aircraft flying to Turkey in the air. According to many media reports, Istanbul is cut off from Ankara.

At 23:33, the Turkish General Staff announces the complete takeover of power in the country. The arrest of the Turkish leadership is reported. World media reports that Erdogan sought political asylum in Germany .

At 23:40 at the headquarters of the Turkish armed forces, the chief of the General Staff, Hulusi Akar , was taken hostage along with several other leaders of the Turkish army ^{[27] [29]} . It was noted that the putschists took hostage the Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Air Force ^[30] . It was reported that the putschists infiltrated the presidential palace, neutralizing its security ^[31] .

As of 23:47, it is reported that a number of Turkish cities are under the control of the military coup.

As of 23:53, street battles were going on in Ankara. The army attacked the police building, there were also battles around the Turkish Foreign Ministry building.

At 23:55, the Turkish military occupied the central Taksim Square in Istanbul.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced at the rally an attempted military coup ^[22] . The Turkish Prime Minister promised to fight to the end for Erdogan, despite the possible casualties among the civilian population. Although some media reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought political asylum in Germany, a little later, at about 00:30, he managed to make a statement via FaceTime from an unreached television station in which he called on the population to resist the coup. According to him, the coup is supported by supporters of spiritual leader Fethullah Gulen , who lives in the United States, who is supported by mid-level military, while the top leadership of the army supported the president. The President of Turkey called what is happening "occupation." Ankara Mayor Ibrahim Melih Goekcek via Twitter asked people to take to the streets of the city, despite the curfew announced by the military ^[32] . Clergy from minarets through loudspeakers called on the people to support the legitimate president ^[28] .

At 00:07, the Turkish military captured the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

At 00:20, the putschists announced a curfew throughout Turkey. In Istanbul, by this time, the military captured all airports and several important strategic points. Istanbul remains cut off from Ankara. At the same time, an official statement (communiqué) of the Turkish military was broadcast on television.

At 00:40, information appeared that Erdogan was on board a private plane, and that he was denied boarding in Istanbul, according to this information, Erdogan went to Germany to seek political asylum there.

At 00:58 in Ankara the first powerful explosion thundered. After 9 minutes, a second explosion thundered. Tanks surround the Turkish Parliament. There are reports of firing at Istanbul Airport.

As of 1:15, shooting is heard at Istanbul Airport. After 5 minutes, a video appeared showing the Turkish military surrendering to Erdogan's supporters. The capture of two generals is reported, but water traffic in Istanbul remains blocked.

At 1:34, the shooting moved to the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, three people were injured. The army drives away the crowd by shooting. After 13 minutes, information appears according to which, some rebel tanks return to their units.

As of 1:55, the whereabouts of Erdogan is unknown. He himself announced his intention to fly to Ankara from Istanbul, but various media sources say that the Turkish president tried to fly to Germany, but he was not given landing and political asylum there, and therefore he is now heading to the UK.

As of 02:00, the putschists had the highest success. After that, the situation began to change in favor of Erdogan.

Around 02:00 a split occurred in the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces . According to Al-Mayadin TV station, the putschists received support only among the ground forces , the gendarmerie and the Turkish air force . The commander of the special forces of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Zekai Aksakalli, meanwhile, said that "a group of traitors encroached on the authorities." According to him, "Turkish special forces will stand on the side of the people and the government." As noted by the Arab military expert Amin Khotate, the balance of power between the rebels and the commanders of the armed forces, who remained faithful to Erdogan, was changing before our eyes ^[33] .

By 2:30 a.m., Istanbul Airport returned to the control of the current government. Police recaptured the airport from the military. According to local media reports, the airport is firing.

On July 16, thousands of supporters of the current government took to the streets ^[34] . Some of them tried to block the movement of military equipment ^[28] . The military opened fire on civilians who intended to cross the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul ^{[35] [36]} . In particular, the organizer of the election campaign, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erol Olchak, and his 16-year-old son were mortally wounded ^[37] .

At 2:45 a.m., Turkish media reported a helicopter attack on the main police department in Ankara ^[38] and on the parliament building, where a meeting of deputies was taking place ^[39] . Presumably for the same reason, an explosion occurred in the office of state television ^[40] . A bomb was dropped on the parliament building. Deputies are hiding in the shelter. Government complex fired from a helicopter.

As of 3:00, Turkish airspace is completely closed. Explosions and shots are still heard in Ankara.

In the morning there were reports that police loyal to the government had begun arresting the conspirators. Many soldiers surrendered themselves and claimed that their commanders had deceived them by sending them for allegedly training. Pro-government aircraft managed to bring down two coup helicopters in the sky over Ankara ^[41] . The rebellion of the military in Istanbul was pacified. Around 7:00 in the morning, the military who blocked the bridges over the Bosphorus left the vehicle and left with their hands up. The events were broadcast by Turkish television channels ^{[28] [42] [43]} . Supporters of Erdogan occupied the Bosphorus Bridge. In total, 50 coupists surrendered on the bridge. Soon, footage appeared on the Internet, showing Erdogan's supporters lynching with a belt of surrendered military coupsmen on the Bosphorus Bridge.

At 8:19 a.m., the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul was partially opened, which had previously been captured by the rebels.

Around the same time in Greece , in the city of Alexandroupolis , a Turkish Black Hawk helicopter landed with 8 people on board. They were associated with the coup and arrested by Greek law enforcement officers. Later, the Turkish Foreign Ministry asked Greece to extradite these military men. The Greek government said it would soon return Turkey to the helicopter on which the coup participants had fled. As for the eight military men themselves, who applied to the Greek authorities for asylum, they will be subject to the procedures established by law ^[44] .

By noon on July 16, the work of all the country's airports was resumed. Turkish authorities opened the Bosphorus Strait for ships to enter.

Примерно в два часа дня 16 июля в СМИ появилась информация, о том, что путчисты захватили фрегат ВМС Турции « Явуз » на главной базе ВМС Турции — Гельджюк, а также взяли в заложники командующего ВМС страны ^[45] .

В Стамбульском аэропорту, в 3:30 утра, объявился президент Турции Эрдоган, которому удалось покинуть отель в Мармарисе незадолго перед его штурмом и вылететь на самолёте, которому пришлось совершить около Стамбула много кругов, пока ситуация не стала меняться в пользу властей ^[46] . После участия на митинге он вылетел из аэропорта Стамбула в Анкару ^[47] . В это же время в Стамбульском аэропорту и на площади Таксим прогремели два мощных взрыва. Сторонники переворота захватили редакцию телеканала CNN Türk .

В 5:00 утра телеканал CNN Türk возобновляет своё вещание. Военные оставили редакцию этого телеканала. В это же время мятежники открыли огонь по людям, собравшимся у здания парламента Турции в Анкаре.

В 5:18 сообщается о том, что убит один из генералов, участвовавших в путче.

В 6:00 утра аэропорт Стамбула возобновляет свою работу. Местные СМИ пишут, что интенсивность столкновений снизилась.

В 6:26 резиденция турецкого президента (президентский дворец) подверглась авиаудару со стороны мятежников.

В 7:00 утра Эрдоган снова выступил перед гражданами в стамбульском аэропорту. Он призвал соотечественников не покидать улицы до полной нормализации ситуации. Президент Турции также заявил, что попытка переворота в стране провалилась.

По состоянию на 7:30, ВВС Турции, верные Эрдогану, бомбят танки сторонников переворота вблизи президентской резиденции.

В 7:48 появляется информация, что и. about. начальника Генштаба Турции назначен Умар Дундар, который руководит Первой армией — сухопутными войсками в районе Стамбула и на северо-востоке Турции. Через час эта информация подтвердилась.

В 8:10 исламский проповедник Фетхуллах Гюлен (его Эрдоган назвал организатором переворота) осудил попытку переворота.

В 9:06 турецкие власти сообщили, что в ходе операции на авиабазе в пригороде Анкары был освобождён, захваченный ранее участниками переворота, глава Генштаба Турции Хулуси Акар. По сообщениям турецких властей, сейчас он находится в безопасном месте.

По состоянию на 10:04, около 200 безоружных солдат покинули военные штабы и сдались полиции и воинским частям, подчинённым Эрдогану.

Позднее события стали разворачиваться в Генеральном штабе Турции. Около 700 военных оттуда сдались в плен. Их перевели в Институт статистики, а затем в полицейскую академию Анкары. К 14:30 поступила информация, что 150 заговорщиков забаррикадировались в здании Генштаба. Также было заявлено, что проведена спецоперация для задержания оставшихся мятежников, подробности не сообщаются. Около 16:00 СМИ сообщили, что последние 150 путчистов, забаррикодировавшихся в здании Генштаба, сдались турецким властям. Среди них было 13 высокопоставленных офицеров, их увезли через час из здания Генштаба отдельно на автобусе.

В конце дня официальный представитель Национальной разведывательной организации Турции Нух Йылмаз заявил, что попытка военного переворота полностью предотвращена ^[48] . Предполагаемого лидера путчистов, бывшего главнокомандующего ВВС Турции генерала Акына Озтюрка, начальника базы турецких ВВС в Балыкесире генерал-лейтенанта Исхак Дайыоглу и ещё около 3 тысяч других заговорщиков задержали в тот же день ^{[49] [50]} .

Турция на некоторое время закрывала воздушное пространство вокруг военной базы НАТО в Турции « Инджирлик ». На ней базируются турецкие и американские ВВС. Через несколько часов воздушное пространство было открыто только на приём: американские самолёты смогли приземлиться, но все вылеты оставались под запретом. Кроме того, на базе по неясной причине отключали электроэнергию. Затем консульская служба при посольстве США в Турции сообщила, что турецкие власти разблокировали доступ на базу ВВС «Инджирлик» ^[51] . Пентагон заявил о приостановке воздушных операций на авиабазе «Инджирлик», поскольку власти Турции закрыли воздушное пространство страны для военных самолётов ^[52] . Глава МИД Турции Мевлют Чавушоглу заявил, что несколько турецких военнослужащих, несших службу на авиабазе НАТО в Турции «Инджирлик», причастны к подготовке государственного переворота в республике. Он также добавил, что операция против путчистов на авиабазе завершена. По словам министра, Турция возобновит рейды на позиции террористической группировки Исламское государство в ближайшее время ^[53] . В дальнейшем трое турецких военачальников, по словам министра обороны Турции Фикри Ышик , захваченные на базе сторонниками военного переворота, были освобождены ^[54] .

По заявлению главы турецкого МИД, Афины пообещали выдать Анкаре восьмерых участников попытки военного переворота ^[55] . Затем МИД Греции вновь заявил, что Афины осуждают попытку переворота в Турции, но вопрос выдачи восьми турецких граждан, запросивших убежища, будет рассмотрен в соответствии с греческим и международным законодательством ^[56] .

17 июля столкновения между полицией и путчистами произошли близ аэропорта Стамбула и на авиабазе в Конье ^[57] . Также, 17 июля, власти Греции вернули Турции полицейский вертолёт Black Hawk, на котором скрылись восемь участников мятежа. Сами путчисты остаются в Греции в ожидании решения о возможности предоставления им политического убежища ^[58] . Позже Греция отказала Турции в выдаче перелетевших в Грецию турецких военных, обвиняемых Анкарой в участии в попытке военного переворота ^[59] .

18 июля турецкий спецназ произвёл зачистку академии ВВС Турции в пригороде Стамбула ^[60] .

По заявлению властей, военный путч в Турции вдохновил живущий в США оппозиционер-проповедник Фетхуллах Гюлен , а организовало среднее звено турецкой армии — военный прокурор и 46 офицеров во главе с отставным полковником Мухарремом Кёсе . Также в мятеже участвовали полковник Мехмет Огуз Аккуш, майор Эркан Агын и подполковник Доган Уйсал. Кроме того, путчистов поддержал лидер Народно-республиканской партии Турции Кемаль Кылычдароглу ^[61] .

According to the Russia Today agency, the real leader of the coup was not Köse, but the former commander of the Turkish Air Force, Akyn Oztürk ^[6] .

After the suppression of the coup, the whereabouts of the alleged organizer of the coup attempt of Colonel Muharrem Kose is unknown.

Another name of a possible organizer of the military coup passed in Turkish media - this is one of the commanders of the ground forces, Lieutenant General Metin Iyidil ^[7] .

General Bekyr Ercan Van, the head of the NATO Incirlik airbase ^[62] , was arrested; the same airbase was the “brain center” of the putschists ^[63] .

On July 16, immediately after the suppression of the rebellion, Ankara Mayor Melih Gekcek stated that one of the participants in the attempted military coup was supposedly a pilot who shot down the Russian Su-24 in November 2015. According to the mayor of Ankara, this pilot was allegedly a member of the "parallel state" organization, led by preacher Gulen.

The reaction of the Turkish media

Immediately after the coup in the Turkish pro-government media, the theme of the American conspiracy and the involvement of the CIA and the US military in organizing the preparation of the coup began to actively expand ^{[64] [65]} . Thus, the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak claims that the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the NATO mission in Afghanistan , US Army General John F. Campbell was responsible for the failed coup. According to the newspaper, the coupists received about two billion dollars to organize the coup. The transfers were allegedly carried out through the CIA , using the UBA bank in Nigeria , cash flow was controlled and distributed personally by General Campbell. According to the newspaper, Campbell held top-secret meetings with Turkish troops at a military base in Erzurum and at the Incirlik air base ^[66] . General Campbell himself rejected these allegations, in addition, it was subsequently established that the general spent all the time during which he allegedly directed the organization of the coup in New York , and that he was at a business dinner in one of Manhattan's restaurants on the night of the coup. ^{[67] [68]} . In addition, he has not left the United States since his return from Afghanistan ^{[67] [68]} .

Another pro-government ^[69] Turkish newspaper, Akşam, claims that 10 people arrived in Turkey from July 13 to 15 and directly coordinated the coup’s actions, as well as assisted in publications in Western and local media that were controlled by the “Gulenists”. According to the publication, these people were: American political scientist and writer Graham Fuller , lecturers from the International Science Center. Woodrow Wilson - Ali Riaz ^[70] and Henry Barki ^[71] (the latter is also a professor at Lehai University ), Helene Laipson - the former in 1997-2000. Assistant Director of the US National Security Council , currently Honorary Director of the Stimson Center ^[72] , Sylvia Teriyaki - Turkish journalist and political scientist, Ahmed Morsi - Carnegie Endowment expert, expert on Egypt and Iran , Scott Petersen - calls his newspaper “a killer in the service of the CIA " ^[73] , Ellie Jeranmeyer - Department of Foreign Relations, European Council ^[74] , Masood Carokhail - Middle East Analyst, expert of a number of international NGOs, Marva Daudi - Associate Professor, Center for Arab Studies and Georgetown Un Iversiteti ^[75] and Samir Sumaydaye - the former in 2006—2011. Ambassador of Iraq to the USA.

According to Akşam newspaper, Buyukada Island near Istanbul served as the focal point for this group, from where the coup’s actions were directed and media outlets were being prepared. According to the same newspaper, the Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople was appointed the head of the media misinformation company, who allegedly also joined the aforementioned “conspirators” ^{[76] [77] [78]} . After the inevitability of the putsch failure became apparent, there was a “dumping” of information in the media that Erdogan himself allegedly staged an attempted coup to strengthen his position in the country. This thesis was to be widely disseminated by the leading Western press. After that, these persons quickly left Turkey. The article further argues that the operational work of the Turkish secret services allegedly revealed the participation of these individuals in the events of the “ Arab spring ” in Tunisia , Egypt , Yemen and Libya ^[79] .

Critics of this approach indicate that the meeting on Buyukada Island was a regular scientific conference on relations with Iran , organized by the Center. Woodrow Wilson, and the majority of those present at it were civilians - journalists and university professors, all of their “positions in the CIA” and “supervision” of certain regions were simply invented ^[80] . The newspaper is also reproached for the extremely low quality of the material. So the names of the “conspirators” were taken from the guest list of the Splendid hotel, in which they were recorded in the order of checking in to the room, and the “reporters” simply took the first 10 residents ^[81] . Since it was not known exactly how they looked, the corresponding photos were taken on the Internet , in connection with which there were errors, in particular, Scott Peterson (in the newspaper he was called the “CIA killer”) appeared on the cover of the newspaper, who was serving life in the USA imprisonment since 2005 for the murder of his own wife ^{[73] [82]} . Probably, the newspaper men confused him with another Scott Peterson , a journalist for the Christian Science Monitor ^{[73] [82]} . Critics also point to the uncleanliness of the Akşam newspaper, which has repeatedly come across gross falsification of materials ^{[69] [83]} .

One of the conference participants, Henry Barki, calls Erdogan’s desire to join the “ mainstream ” a possible reason for the appearance of such articles in the pro-government press: according to him, Turkish society is obsessed with “ conspiracy theories ” and the government’s support for public sentiment makes it very popular ^[84] . he claims that this article was ordered directly by the Turkish special services, as it contains strictly confidential information, such as the exact time the passport crossed orthographic control upon entry into the country ^[84] . In addition, a version is being put forward that the development of an anti-American campaign through the Turkish pro-government media is a kind of attempt to put pressure on the leadership of the United States in order to achieve certain concessions from them in negotiations with Turkey ^[85] . It is likely that such public sentiments may be caused by a difficult history of relations between Turkey and the United States, in particular, in the past, American intelligence agencies often intervened in the internal affairs of Turkey during numerous military coups. It is worth noting that the Orthodox TV channel Tsargrad TV and Russian political scientist Sergey Kurginyan adhere to such conspiracy theories.

It really was an attempted military coup

The military, which for decades served as the guarantor of secularism in the Turkish Republic, are accustomed to putting the country on the “right”, in their opinion, channel of development. So it was in the armed coups in 1960 , 1971 , 1980 and 1997 . In February 1997, the army showed up with tanks in the main square of the capital, and the government, realizing the hint, resigned itself. Later there were no such cases, although there was a warning in 2007. He was nicknamed the "e-memorandum" and the postmodern coup. The incident received such names due to the fact that the General Staff published a message on the official website about concerns about the future secular order in the country. This message affected the fact that Erdogan could not become president of the country in 2007. Based on all of the above, it can be concluded that coups d'etat have long become commonplace for the military and in 2016 they again decided to influence the policy of the elected government.

Erdogan himself set up a military coup

Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself planned the coup ^[13] : in particular, it is noted that the coup looked extremely poorly organized, but served as an excuse for the president to “clean up” the army and state apparatus ^{[86] [87]} . So for the first time, this version was voiced by Fethullah Gulen , who commented on the failed coup as follows: “Perhaps it was a rigged coup and it will be used for future charges” ^[88] . As a result of the failed coup, Erdogan received a small victorious conflict that consolidates certain sections of society around him. Thanks to an unsuccessful coup, he received carte blanche for various reforms, such as changes to the Constitution ^[89] and the transformation of Turkey into a super-presidential republic ^[90] . Erdogan also had a unique opportunity to turn Turkey from a secular state into an Islamic republic , similar to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran , despite the discontent of the Kemalists ^{[91] [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] [ 98] [99] [100]} .

Erdogan's unintentional provocation of a military coup attempt

Erdogan knew in advance about a plot being prepared against him among the military elite. At the same time, the Turkish special services intended to arrest the alleged conspirators, and during the subsequent “purges” in the army, all the key posts should have been appointed proxies of Erdogan. The conspirators, in turn, became aware of this, and they decided to deliver a preemptive strike by speaking out against the president without proper preparation ^[101] .

The military coup was arranged by the " parallel state " structure

The Turkish government accuses the Hizmet Movement and its leader Fethullah Gulen of using their leverage in the army and attempting to overthrow the government. It should be borne in mind that the religious leader himself is a representative of moderate Islam, who advocates education, and calls for dialogue between faiths. However, in 2013 there was a discord between Gulen and Erdogan. There is a version that it was the filtering initiated by Erdogan of all persons associated with Hizmet that caused discontent among representatives of this movement. So, Erdogan began to close educational institutions affiliated with Hizmet. On the same day, the prosecutor's office initiated an anti-corruption investigation against senior officials close to the Erdogan government. Some of the ministers and their sons found themselves in the corruption scheme of a certain Reza Zarrab, a Turkish citizen of Iranian descent. Then-Prime Minister Erdogan first used the phrase “parallel state” for “Hizmet,” calling the movement the culprit of a corruption scandal with which it attempted to stage a coup through discrediting the government. Thousands of policemen, prosecutors and judges were removed from their posts, the Big Bribe case broke up, all the defendants were released.

However, Hizmet and Fethullah Gulen himself deny their involvement in the coup attempt ^[102] . On the contrary, Gulen stated that he did not rule out the possibility of staging the coup by Erdogan himself ^{[103] [104]} . In response to a request from the Turkish Justice Ministry to the United States for his extradition, the preacher announced his readiness to return to his homeland if the US government decides to extradite an attempted coup in an international investigation.

The junta staged a coup to provoke protests against the government

According to this version, the junta, which is associated with the CIA ^{[105] [106]} , decided to arrange a pseudo-coup so that Erdogan would react to it and begin to “tighten the screws”. As a result, the dissatisfaction of dissent increases and this provokes natural protest movements, as was the case in Taksim-Gezi Park in 2013 . Thus, the junta again gets its result, but without armed plantings and the stigma of a “military coup” unpleasant for Turkish society ^[107] .

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on US President Barack Obama to extradite Turkey to the Islamic opposition preacher Fethullah Gulen , whom Ankara accuses of organizing an attempted military coup in the country ^[108] . After the authorities successfully suppressed the attempted military coup, the Turkish leader also promised to severely punish its organizers, regardless of what structures they represent ^[109] .

At the opening of the special session of the parliament, its chairman Ismail Kahraman emphasized that all participants in the coup attempt in Turkey “will appear before the court in the very near future” ^[110] . Yıldırım also said at a press conference that the country's Constitutional Council would consider introducing the death penalty after an attempt by the military to carry out a coup, which would mean the suspension of Turkey’s accession to the European Union ^[111] . Prime Minister Yildirim said in relation to the United States that the country cannot be a friend of Turkey while harboring the inspiration for the Gulen coup.

On the night of July 15-16, amid an attempted coup, the Turkish lira fell to record low levels. In the evening of July 20, the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings lowered Turkey's long-term sovereign rating in foreign currency from “BB +” to “BB”, and in the national - from “BBB-” to “BB +”. The outlook is negative. After this news, the Turkish lira fell to a record low ^[112] . Ankara estimated the loss of the Turkish economy from the coup attempt at $ 100 billion ^[113] . The international rating agency Fitch downgraded the outlook for Turkey’s long-term rating from stable to negative “BBB-” ^[114] . Following the deterioration of the forecast on the sovereign rating of Turkey, Fitch lowered its forecasts for such companies of the country as Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. (Türk Telekom), Turkcell İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş. (Turkcell) and Coca Cola İçecek A.Ş. - from stable to negative. Fitch also downgraded the outlook on the ratings of 18 Turkish banks from stable to negative. In particular, forecasts for ratings of such banks as Ziraat Bankası A.Ş., Türkiye Halk Bankası A.Ş., Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası TAO, İstanbul Takas ve Saklama Bankası A.Ş., Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası A.Ş. were lowered. , Türkiye Kalkınma Bankası A.Ş. and Türkiye İhracat Kredi Bankası A.Ş .. ^[115] .

July 18, the portal WikiLeaks announced the publication of more than 100 thousand documents relating to the Turkish authorities ^[116] . The material was received a week before the coup attempt in Turkey, but it was decided to postpone the publication due to the purges that began in the Turkish authorities after the coup ^[117] . On July 19, WikiLeaks uploaded the first batch of emails from the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey. Due to the publication, the WikiLeaks website was blocked in Turkey ^[118] .

On July 20, Turkish President R. Erdogan announced the introduction of a state of emergency for a period of three months ^[119] .

On July 21, Turkey temporarily suspended the European Convention on Human Rights ^[120] .

On July 23, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced the dissolution of the presidential guard ^[121] .

The day of the suppression of the putsch became the official holiday "Day of Democracy and National Unity - July 15" and is included in the list of state holidays. The events dedicated to the Day were held, a year later, on July 16, 2017 , in dozens of cities in Turkey. On this day, R. Erdogan opened a monument in Ankara to victims of the coup attempt (memorial to the Martyrs), located opposite his capital’s residence ^[122] . A grand rally was held in Ankara, at which the speaker Erdogan said that he was counting on parliament to approve a bill introducing the death penalty in the country - “If the death penalty passes through parliament, I will approve it. I believe that he will pass. "

On July 17, the government will consider extending the state of emergency.

Mass layoffs and harassment

After the failure of the coup in Turkey, large-scale “purges” began among government officials, journalists, the judiciary, the army, the police, and the education sector. The authorities detained a judge of the Constitutional Court , dismissed almost 3,000 judges and some civil servants, including some presidential advisers ^[123] . Nearly 250 employees of the Ministry of Sports were fired ^[124] . 30 governors lost posts ^[125] . The National Intelligence Organization suspended 100 of its employees ^[126] , and the Turkish Religious Affairs Office laid off 492 officials ^[127] .

Turkish authorities removed all military prosecutors from their posts ^[128] and detained a number of high-ranking military ^[129] . At least 103 admiral and general were detained, 43 of whom have already been arrested by court order ^[130] . 8 тысяч сотрудников полиции были уволены ^[131] . В дополнение к этому, были уволены ещё 2360 полицейских, более сотни военных и 196 сотрудников министерства связи ^[132] . Также были отправлены в отставку 586 офицеров в звании полковника: 470 офицеров сухопутных войск, 71 офицер ВМС, а также 45 ВВС ^[133] .

Министерство образования Турции приостановило работу 626 учебных заведений, в числе закрытых значатся 524 частные школы. Уволены 15 тысяч учителей и полторы тысячи деканов ^[134] , а также ректоры четырёх турецких университетов ^[135] . Из-за путча было закрыто более 1200 фондов и благотворительных организаций, 19 профсоюзов, 15 университетов, а также 35 медицинских учреждений ^[136] . В общей сложности, были отстранены от работы более 27 тыс. работников образования ^[137] .

Власти Турции начали отзывать лицензии у теле- и радиостанций, связанных с оппозиционным деятелем Фетхуллахом Гюленом ^[138] . Также сообщалось, что примерно 60 сотрудников турецкого информагентства Cihan были уволены ^[139] .

В общей сложности, после попытки переворота в Турции потеряли работу более 76 тысяч человек ^[140] . Началось судебное разбирательство в отношении более 9 тысяч человек ^[141] .

По состоянию на декабрь 2016 года по делу о попытке государственного переворота в Турции было арестовано более 37 тысяч человек.

Накануне годовщины попытки госпереворота в государственной Official Gazette был опубликован декрет, согласно которому тысячи госслужащих в Турции отстранены от работы. Всего своих должностей лишились 7348 человек. ^[142]

В марте 2018 г. был опубликован доклад Управления Верховного комиссара ООН по правам человека , в котором указывается, что многократное продление чрезвычайного положения в Турции привело к серьёзным нарушениям прав человека сотен тысяч людей: от произвольного лишения права на трудоустройство и свободу передвижения до пыток и иных видов ненадлежащего обращения, произвольных задержаний и нарушений права на свободу ассоциаций и выражения мнений. Почти 160 000 человек были арестованы в ходе 18-месячного чрезвычайного положения; 152 000 государственных служащих были уволены. Уволенные лица потеряли социальные льготы, медицинскую страховку, а часто и жильё. Турецкие власти поместили под стражу около 100 беременных или только что родивших женщин, главным образом, на том основании, что они являлись пособниками своих мужей, которых подозревают в связях с террористическими организациями. Некоторые из них были помещены под стражу со своими детьми. Около 300 журналистов были арестованы на основании их публикаций, в которых якобы содержатся «оправдания терроризма» или иные «словесные нарушения», либо по обвинениям в членстве в террористических организациях. Более 100 000 веб-сайтов были заблокированы в 2017 году, включая большое число веб-сайтов с прокурдской позицией и сайтов спутниковых ТВ-каналов. Доклад также документирует применение пыток и ненадлежащее обращение под стражей, включая сильные избиения, угрозы сексуального насилия и фактическое сексуальное насилие, использование электрошокера и погружения в воду со стороны полиции, жандармерии, военной полиции и сил безопасности ^[143] .

• Халисдемир, Омер
• Операция «Кувалда»
• Республиканская народная партия (Турция)
• Кемализм
• Рабочая партия (Турция)
• Глубинное государство
• Эргенекон (организация)

• July 15, 2016. Attempted military coup and victory of the people
• Why Erdogan turned out to be more successful than Yanukovych. The Turkish President in advance weakened the institutions of the delegitimization of his power / Nezavisimaya Gazeta , 07/19/2016
• Coup attempt in Turkey: night from July 15 to July 16 in photos / TASS , July 16, 2016