Only Öksüz out of five Turkish civil coup figures fled on eve of failed attempt: Indictment

The footage of five civilian key suspects of the July 15, 2016, failed coup attempt has emerged, showing main figures in front of a gendarmerie post early on July 16, according to an indictment regarding the release of one of them.

Adil Öksüz, Hakan Çiçek, Nurettin Oruç, Kemal Batmaz and Harun Biniş, who are believed to be followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, together in front of the Kazan gendarmerie post in the newly-emerged footage. 

All five "civilian imams" are believed to be among the organizers of the attempted takeover and were in the Akıncı Air Base, which was used by coup-attempting soldiers as a headquarters on July 15 in the capital Ankara. 

"Imam," which traditionally refers to a religious public worker, is a term used by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have masterminded the thwarted coup, to mark local leadership.

Only Öksüz is free among the five key figures and his whereabouts are unknown.

Öksüz, known as the Gülen movement's "imam of the Air Force," was detained near the Akıncı Air Base on the morning of July 16, only to be released by Judge Çetin Sönmez on July 18, after which he went on the run. 

According to the indictment including 28 public officers that was prepared by Ankara Public Prosecutor Ramazan Dinç regarding Öksüz's release, some civilians and soldiers wanted to escape from the air base after they understood that their attempt had failed. 

A special team was formed by Kazan Gendarmerie Command to apprehend the coup suspects on the run and caught Oruç and Çiçek some 50 meters apart from each other. 

While Oruç told the gendarmerie officers that he was in the area for filming, Çiçek said he owned the Ankara...