Details have emerged regarding the statements of 27 suspects detained in the investigation into the accident that led to the death of Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, founder and former chairman of the Great Unity Party (BBP). Among the questions posed to some suspect pilots, they were asked, "Have you made flights to Israel?" Another striking detail in the interrogation was that the suspect who prepared the false information note, a dismissed police officer, is also currently being tried for being a Mossad agent. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had ordered the detention of 27 individuals; 19 of them were arrested and sent to prison, while 8 were placed under judicial control.
"I STAYED IN ISRAEL FOR 3 DAYS"
The Israeli question was directed to military pilots Tezcan Kaymaz, Nihat Biçer, Ali Armağan, Ahmet Turhan, and Sedat Kılıçarslan, who were alleged to have flown near the crash site on F-4 and F-16 aircraft on the day of the helicopter crash, causing sonic booms by exceeding the speed of sound. Only Ali Armağan, a former Air Forces Command Chief of Staff who was stripped of his rank after July 15 due to FETÖ ties, answered "Yes." Armağan said, "In 1997, we went to Israel, to Ben Gurion Airport, with 2 F-4 aircraft for modernization. We stayed in Israel for 3 days, delivered the planes to Israeli military officials, and after visiting places like Jerusalem with a guide, we returned to Turkey." The other retired pilots stated that they worked for private airlines and had therefore traveled to Israel.
TRIED FOR MOSSAD ESPIONAGE
Another notable detail in the interrogation concerned İsmail Kaya, a police officer who was at the time assigned to the Kahramanmaraş Police Department's Intelligence Branch. It emerged that Kaya, who was dismissed from the police force due to FETÖ affiliation, is also currently being tried for Mossad espionage. It was learned that Kaya was tried in the same case as former Police Chief Hamza Turan Ayberk, who was caught operating in Turkey on behalf of Israel, and received a prison sentence of 4 years and 2 months for "obtaining information or documents related to state security through complicity."
"I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS WORKING FOR ISRAEL"
During the interrogation regarding the Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu investigation, Kaya made the following defense:
"In 2024 or 2025, I underwent a judicial investigation on the grounds that I was an Israeli agent. The reason is that when I came to Tahtakale to repair phones at the shop of my fellow villager Ekrem Ağırman, I met a person named Hamza Turan Ayberk, who had me repair a few phones and sent the repair fee to my account. Ayberk was an Israeli agent, but I had no knowledge of that. Because I had money transfers with him, I was also prosecuted."
Immediately after the accident, Kaya, who was on duty at the intelligence branch, sent information to 81 provinces stating, "Yazıcıoğlu survived. He has a broken leg and was taken to Göksun State Hospital."
CRUCIAL FINDING FROM THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
This information note led to a pause in search efforts. The prosecutor's office made the following accusation against Kaya:
"As a result of the aforementioned information note, the search and rescue activities were first directed to another area, and then the note that he was found alive led to the cessation of search and scanning activities for a period of time. Furthermore, the location of İsmail Güneş was prevented from being determined, causing his deliberate death. It is clearly seen that there was concern that if the surviving İsmail Güneş had been reached, it would have revealed that the incident was an organized act."
MODEL OF THE F-16 THAT SHOT DOWN THE HELICOPTER!
Over the years, an interesting claim has emerged regarding Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu's death. It was alleged that a model of an F-16 was displayed on the 5th floor of the organization's Yamanlar College in Izmir, and that the school administration would tell visitors, "This is the model of the F-16 that flew over Yazıcıoğlu's helicopter." This claim has now been entered into the case file through a witness statement. A former organization member named Abdullah Önder described the matter as follows:
"After a trip, I met with Mehmet Durakoğlu, known as the Elazığ Provincial Imam, at the organization's office in Elazığ and told him about this situation. He told me, 'What is said about this F-16 model is that it is the model of the F-16 that flew over Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu's helicopter and caused it to crash.' I then asked him how such a situation, i.e., causing the helicopter to crash, could occur. He got angry and said, 'How would the F-16 pilot know there was a helicopter below? He was given that duty, so he did it...'"
CLOSE CONTACT WITH ADİL ÖKSÜZ
Ali Armağan, the former Air Forces Chief of Staff who was detained and arrested as part of the investigation, draws attention with his intense ties to FETÖ. It was determined that Ali Armağan, one of the pilots of the F-4 fighter jet that was in the area during the accident hours, had come to Malatya on March 20, 2009, five days before the incident, to complete his flight hours. Armağan, who was subjected to judicial proceedings due to FETÖ affiliation and served prison time between 2018 and 2023, was found to have used an operational line for organizational activities since 2010 and communicated 152 times with Adil Öksüz, one of FETÖ's imams for the Air Force. It was also reflected in the investigation file that fingerprints belonging to Ali Armağan's wife, Şerife Armağan, were found on a book written by the organization's leader Fetullah Gülen, which was seized during a search of Adil Öksüz's home. Armağan denied the allegations regarding his flight on the day of the accident and also rejected the accusations of having connections with Adil Öksüz and Kemal Batmaz.
SECRET TRAFFIC TO THE USA AND MALATYA
One of the most striking details in the file is the communications made by individuals involved in FETÖ's clandestine Air Force structure immediately before the accident. It was determined that Erol Sağlam, the clandestine imam for the Air Force in Istanbul at the time, traveled from Istanbul to Diyarbakır on March 21, 2009, and then to Malatya. It was found that Sağlam met with Ali Cingitaş, the organization's clandestine imam for the Air Force in Malatya, and returned to Istanbul on March 22. The common contact of Erol Sağlam and Ali Cingitaş was identified as Cağfer Sarıkaya, also a clandestine imam for the Air Force. It was determined that Cağfer Sarıkaya, the common contact, traveled from Istanbul to the USA on March 23, 2009, together with Harun Biniş, who was captured at Akıncı Air Base during the July 15 coup attempt, and fugitive Adil Öksüz. It is notable that this travel took place just 2 days before the helicopter crash. It was also determined that Malatya Air Force clandestine imam Ali Cingitaş went to Istanbul 5 days after the crash, on March 30, 2009. Cingitaş was found to have met with Kemal Batmaz, one of FETÖ's clandestine imams for the Air Force, in Istanbul.
FROM THE TEAM THAT ATTEMPTED TO ASSASSINATE ERDOĞAN
Many of the individuals detained in the investigation have deep ties to FETÖ. Non-commissioned officer Aydın Özsıcak and Non-commissioned officer Davut Uçum, who were seen removing devices from the crashed helicopter to obscure evidence, were expelled from the TSK due to FETÖ ties. Özsıcak and Uçum were part of the team that attempted to assassinate President Erdoğan during the July 15 coup attempt. Former Non-commissioned officer Nusret Memiş was also dismissed from the TSK after July 15. The name of retired Major Mehmet Çağlar appeared in ByLock correspondence, while police officers Dursun Özmen and İsmail Kaya were among those removed from public service.
SOURCE: YENİ ŞAFAK GAZETESİ / OĞUZHAN ÜRÜŞAN
