[Hurriyet Daily News] The key suspect in the case on the events at the Akinci Air Base, considered to be the commanding center of ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s July 2016 coup attempt, has denied all allegations during his defense on the second day of the trademark trial.
The Ankara 4th High Criminal Court continued hearings on events at the base, from which warplanes took off to bomb parliament and other key state offices, killing 77 people.
On the second day, the court board started to hear the statements of 486 suspects including Fethullah Gulen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
, the U.S.-based Islamic preacher who is accused of criminal masterminding the coup attempt, and civilians Adil Öksuz, Kemal Batmaz, Harun Binis, Nurettin Oruc and Hakan Cicek, who are accused of being the leaders of Gulen network in key state offices.
Batmaz, the first suspect to give a statement, denied all allegations.
"I have never been a part of this organization. I deny all the allegations," he said.
Described by prosecutors as the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization’s (FETÖ) "civil imam" (or leader), Batmaz is accused of coordinating the coup attempt with Öksuz, accused of being the other civilian leader within the Air Forces.
The indictment also included video footage depicting Batmaz and Öksuz at Istanbul Airport, allegedly heading to the U.S., where he is accused of contacting Gulen.
"I have seen Öksuz with his brother-in-law Abdulhadi Yildirim couple of times. For this reason we might have said ’Hello’ to each other couple of times because we encountered each other several times. We have bowing acquintance. It does not mean that I know him," Batmaz said.
Batmaz said the video footage at the airport is a "coincidence," adding that he travelled to the U.S. for business purposes.
"I have neither gone to Pennsylvania nor have I ever had contact [with Gulen]. The idea of receiving an instruction is out of the question. The only connection I have is the fact that I worked in their companies," he said.
"I could not have been given orders. The fact that I was abroad during the meetings that allegedly took place in Ankara [to plan the coup] is evidence of this," he added.
The indictment also included a video obtained from security cameras at the Akinci Air Base allegedly depicting former commander Hakan Evrim making a formal military salute to Batmaz. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
Batmaz denied that the person in the footage was him.
Batmaz and Binis were caught on the coup night near the Akinci Air Base, which he said they had come to while "looking for real estate."