I hit the presidential palace on purpose as part of coup, says Gülen follower pilot

The pilot who hit the Presidential Palace in Ankara during the July 15 failed coup has said that he hit the building on purpose as part of the coup, making him one of the first soldiers to admit that he acted knowing that there was a putsch against the country's elected government.

"I knew that we, I mean the Gülen movement, was staging a coup. I hit the building on purpose," pilot Müslim Macit said in his testimony, which was taken on Sept. 30. 

The followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen are accused of staging the attempted putsch.
Soldiers identified as Cpt. Mete Kaygusuz, Cpt. Ahmet Tosun and Col. Ahmet Özçetin were at a table on the night of the coup, Macit said, adding that Özçetin was taking orders from civilians that he did not know.
"Hakan Evrim, Kubilay Selçuk and civilians that I don't know were in the military area," said Macit.

"Tosun conveyed the orders that he took from Mehmet Fatih Çavur via a walkie-talkie to the plane. Çavur was taking orders from Ahmet Özçetin. Tosun started telling the planes that there was permission to hit the parliament, fly at a low altitude over Kızılay, that there was permission to hit Türksat [Turkey's top satellite network] and fly low over the General Staff," he said. 

During his testimony, Macit said he had known that the commander of Air Force Gen. Abidin Ünal was brought to the 141st fleet at the Akıncılar Air Base, one of the centers of the coup, but that his hands were not tied. 

"He said good evening to us and walked away," Macit said.

Macit also described how he hit the Presidential Palace during the coup attempt.

"I hit the Presidential Palace and the mosque near it. I dropped a bomb near the mosque. Later on the planes that...