Top three suspects revealed in case into acts in key Ankara air base during coup attempt

The top three suspects in the case into coup actions in Ankara's Akıncı Air Base during the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt were revealed in an indictment prepared by Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman on March 31.

The 4,658-page indictment, which included a total of 481 suspects, named the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen as the prime suspect, while naming Adil Öksüz, the "Air Force imam" of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), and Kemal Batmaz second and third, respectively.  

"Imam," which traditionally refers to a religious public worker, is a term used by the Gülenist organization to mark local leadership.

Batmaz, who is under arrest, was found near the Akıncı Air Base and defended himself by saying he was around looking for land.  Footage of him in the air base previously emerged, in which a ranked soldier was saluting Batmaz. 

The indictment consisting of 570 files also said that Akın Öztürk was the head of the military wing of the coup attempt. 

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.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ and the lawmakers that were subjected to bombing in the parliament are listed as complainants. 

In the indictment that included a general, six major generals, 18 brigadier generals, 22...