FETÖ-confessor soldier released with ban on leaving Turkey, says he should have been killed
ANKARA
A Turkish soldier who was regarded as a hero for his efforts to thwart the July 2016 coup attempt but later confessed to being a member of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have been behind the coup attempt, was released under judicial control conditions with a ban on leaving the country on Jan. 9.
Captain Burak Akın, who had been serving as the security chief of Land Forces Commander Gen. Yaşar Güler, surrendered to police headquarters in Ankara, reportedly testifying that FETÖ was “oppressing him and he could not stand the pressure.”
Captain Fuat Söylemez and Captain Abdülkadir Koçyiğit, who were both detained following Akın’s testimony, have also been released with a judicial control condition and a ban on leaving Turkey.
Akın had initially been declared a hero and awarded a medal for courageous actions for helping to suppress the coup attempt, as camera footage showed him being shot in the legs during the putsch.
However, Akın said in his testimony that he had tried to break his connection to FETÖ when FETÖ members attempted to carry out the coup but had failed.
“When I saw them attempting the coup, I broke up with them. But they did not leave me alone. The fugitives kept on calling me and trying to contact me. I always avoided them. I did not want to see them. I should have been shot in the head during the coup attempt, but the bullet hit my leg because I was crawling,” he said.
