Mass Trial Over Turkey’s Coup Plot Becomes an Arena of Emotion
Mr. Erdogan, who evaded capture by the coup plotters on the night of July 15, 2016, has accused a former
ally, the Islamist cleric Fethullah Gulen, of masterminding the coup from his refuge in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Gulen is among those indicted in what has become known as the Akinci air base case, named for the base
that was considered the coup plotters’ headquarters and from where jets were deployed to bomb targets.
When asked to explain how a group of officers who had gained promotion together were all at Akinci base on the night of the coup, he turned to sarcasm: "It was us
who burned down Rome also." Another defendant, Col. Muzaffer Duzenli, the head of an army department, is also named as one of the main organizers of the plot.
Colonel Duzenli is accused in the indictment of organizing meetings to plan the coup
and setting up a contact group of plotters on the encrypted telephone messaging service WhatsApp.
Mr. Gulen denies the charge and has suggested that Mr. Erdogan orchestrated the coup himself in order to purge his opponents and amass more power.
Most of those who have testified so far — more than 20 senior officers
and civilians in the course of first three weeks — denied any responsibility for the coup, much to the anger of victims’ relatives and supporters in the public gallery.
On a recent day, the courtroom was packed to hear Col. Ahmet Ozcetin, the operations commander
of Akinci air base, who is charged with being one of the main instigators of the coup.
