Photographs from July 15 show generals’ abduction by coup plotters

ISTANBUL

Photographs showing top commanders, including Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, being forcibly abducted by pro-coup soldiers at the military headquarters, was broadcast by Turkish broadcaster Haber 7 on Aug. 23, more than a month after the failed takeover bid.

The images, obtained through surveillance cameras inside the Turkish General Staff headquarters in the capital Ankara, show Akar, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler, and Land Forces Commander Gen. Salih Zeki Çolak.

Akar and Çolak kept their posts after the High Military Council (YAŞ) meeting on July 28, while Güler was promoted to the position of chief of the gendarmerie.

While footage shows Akar being taken forcibly out of the building to be taken to the Akıncı Military Base, from where the attempt was being coordinated, his executive assistant Staff Col. Ramazan Gözel can be seen helping the pro-coup soldiers.

While Güler is seen with his hands tied behind his back, being forced upstairs to the commanders’ floor, Land Forces Chief of Staff Gen. İhsan Uyar is seen on the floor with his hands being tied.

The coup soldiers were also holding Air Force Commander Abidin Ünal, after abducting him during a wedding ceremony in Istanbul along with several other high-ranking soldiers.