Turkish coup soldiers were ordered to shoot at will: Indictment

The soldiers who participated in the July 15, 2016, failed coup attempt were ordered to shoot at will, according to an indictment prepared by Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding coup activities at the Akıncı Air Base. 

The 4,658-page indictment, which includes a total of 481 suspects, was sent to court on March 31. 

The Akıncı Air Base was used as the center of the failed coup attempt on the night of the foiled coup. Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and force commanders were taken to the base and held captive by pro-coup soldiers. However, they were all later freed in a special forces operation in the early hours of July 16, 2016. Its runways were also bombed to prevent F-16s used by the coup plotters from taking off.

The indictment included conversations between jet pilots and the air base during the thwarted coup, widely believed to have been masterminded by the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.

According to the indictment, pilots received orders from Ahmet Tosun with the 141st fleet of Akıncı Air Base. When he was informed that a vehicle was driving slowly, Tosun told the pilot to shoot. 

"We are hitting moving targets, you can fire at will," Tosun said.

Tosun also ordered the bombing of the Gölbaşı Special Forces Command in Ankara. In the same conversation regarding the special forces command, Tosun ordered the shooting of another helicopter after the pilot informed him of its presence. 

The indictment also said Tosun ordered suspects Oğuz Alper Emrah and İlker Hazinedar to determine the plane of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and take action against it. 

"The plane you are going to prevent is probably a presidential plane, it will have force. It's a giant...