Our Directorate organised a panel titled "The Legal Process of July 15th".
In the panel moderated by Cem Duran Uzun, Lecturer at Ankara Medipol University Faculty of Law, July 15th Association Chairman of the Board İsmail Hakkı Turunç, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University International Relations Department Faculty Member Assoc. Prof Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın and July 15 Coup Trials Platform Chair Avukat Mehmet Alagöz participated as speakers.
In his recollection of the events that transpired on the night of July 15th, İsmail Hakkı Turunç stated, "They harboured aspirations to conclude these treasons in the country and fragment the country with the help of other imperial countries." “Our nation may not have been aware of this plan, but on that day, when our president said, ‘I am calling on my people to take to the squares and the streets,’ the people immediately understood that the country was about to be divided, torn apart, and surrendered into the hands of imperialists.”
Assoc. Prof Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın underscored that the coup attempt should be handled in a multidimensional manner.
Pointing out that the incident has a very complex structure from the perspective of both international relations and international law, Assoc. Prof Açıkalın said, "It was clearly seen that night that FETO was not only a network of educational institutions, as it appeared to be, but an international terrorist organisation that infiltrated the state and sought to overthrow the elected government in Türkiye."
Assoc. Prof Açıkalın noted that the definition of a terrorist organisation varies from country to country, stating, “There are still many countries that remain highly reluctant to recognise FETO as an international terrorist organisation. What we’re talking about is a group embedded within various institutional structures in many parts of the world.
July 15 Coup Trials Platform Chairman, Lawyer Mehmet Alagöz said that although Türkiye is a country that has experienced coups, no coup trials have been held in the genuine sense in the past.
Regarding the judicial process that started after July 15, Alagöz said, "There was a good reaction. The Council of Judges and Prosecutors first purged judges and prosecutors with FETO affiliations. Subsequently, some decisions were rendered, and adjudication was performed according to where the events took place. The July 15 resistance is extremely important for our history of law. We are no longer a country where elected prime ministers are put on trial; we are a country where coup plotters and coup attempt perpetrators are put on trial. On the one hand, it is essential to fight against coups and ensure that the criminals are tried, and on the other hand, it is essential to make efforts to eliminate the environments that foster coups."
