05.08.2026 21:40
On the night of July 15, former FETÖ captain Burkay Karatepe, who was involved in the assassination attempt against President Erdoğan and had been a fugitive for about 10 years, was captured and arrested. In his statement to the police, Karatepe stated that he wanted to benefit from effective remorse, saying he would recount his connections with the organization and what he knew about the night of July 15. With Karatepe, who had been a fugitive for years, becoming a confessor, striking new details also emerged in the case file.
The statement given by former captain Burkay Karatepe, who was wanted as a fugitive for a long time for his alleged involvement in the assassination attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the July 15 coup attempt, has emerged following his capture.
At the beginning of his statement, Karatepe stated that he wanted to benefit from the effective remorse provisions, saying he would tell everything he knew and would clearly answer the questions directed at him.
In his statement, Karatepe said that the effective remorse law was explained to him by the officials and his lawyer, and that he understood the scope of the law, adding, "I want to benefit from the effective remorse provisions. I will tell what I know. I will answer all questions asked of me with clarity."
"THERE IS NO DIRECT FETO CONNECTION IN MY FAMILY"
In the first part of his statement, Karatepe argued that his family had no direct relationship or connection with FETO.
Regarding how his connection with the organization began, he said that in 2013, with the intention of getting married, he met a person named Hami, whom he described as a "marriage brother." Karatepe stated that the person who introduced him to Hami was Muhammet Baran.
Karatepe recounted that he said he wanted to marry a woman "from the service" within the organization, and that candidates were then shown to him.
HE DESCRIBED THE MARRIAGE PROCESS IN DETAIL
Karatepe stated that he met the first candidate in Ankara, and that this meeting ended negatively. He then recounted that he was introduced to the second candidate, the woman he later married.
Karatepe stated that during these meetings, the person named Hami directed the process and asked him to purchase two phone lines. He said he gave one of the lines he obtained to the woman he would marry, and kept the other line himself.
Karatepe also claimed that his former wife served as an "older sister" to university students. Stating that he had no contact with his former wife after July 15, Karatepe recounted that a divorce case was later filed and they were divorced.
HE SAID HE DID NOT USE BYLOCK AND SIMILAR APPLICATIONS
Karatepe was also asked whether he used communication programs such as ByLock, Eagle, KakaoTalk, Talkray, and Signal.
Karatepe answered this question by saying that he had not used any of these applications during or after his professional career.
HE MET WITH FETULLAH GULEN
One of the most striking parts of his statement was what Karatepe told about the period when he was sent to the United States in 2012.
Karatepe stated that before going to America, Muhammet Baran, who he said was responsible for him, gave him the phone number of a person to contact in the USA.
He recounted that he met with this person after arriving in America, and said that his subsequent trip to Pennsylvania was also planned while he was in Ankara.
Karatepe recounted that he was taken to the mansion where Fetullah Gulen was staying in Pennsylvania and had a face-to-face meeting with Gulen there.
According to his statement, the person who took him to Pennsylvania asked him to change his clothes, put on a hat and glasses before entering the grounds where the mansion was located. Karatepe stated that he was told this was done for security reasons, and that he then spent the night in a room shown to him.
Karatepe recounted that he was brought before Gulen the next day, and said that a person named Cevdet Turkyolu greeted him before the meeting.
"NO SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS WERE GIVEN"
Karatepe stated that during his meeting with Gulen, he was asked where he served and whether he was married.
He recounted that he told him he served in the Special Forces, and stated that he was single. He said that Gulen then recited a prayer for him, and the meeting lasted approximately 10-15 minutes.
Karatepe argued that no special instructions were given to him during the meeting.
"I BROUGHT SKULLCAPS AND PRAYER BEADS TO TURKEY"
Karatepe recounted that after the meeting, Cevdet Turkyolu gave him 4-5 skullcaps and prayer beads, saying these were items used by Gulen.
He stated that after returning to Turkey, he gifted some of these items to people named Muhammet Baran, Hasan Huseyin Altinsoy, and Umit Burtacoglu.
"WE WILL TAKE THE PRESIDENT"
Stating that they joined forces with the MAK and SAT teams at Cigli Military Air Base on July 15, Karatepe shared the following details about the Marmaris operation: "At Cigli, Sukru Seymen asked the team 'Is there anyone among us who is not from the service?' and no negative response came from anyone. It was openly stated that the army had taken over the administration and that our duty was 'to take the President and take him to the designated place.'"
Stating that they landed in Marmaris around 03.00 on July 16 and learned the location of the residence by asking citizens and a taxi driver on the road, Karatepe stated that when they approached and fire was opened, he responded indiscriminately. He stated that when it was understood that President Erdogan was not at the residence, the protection police were beaten, and since the helicopters could not land, they fled into the countryside.
ESCAPE TO IZMIR BY HITCHHIKING
The former captain, stating that he left the group when he realized the coup had failed, recounted in detail that he took off his camouflage and obtained civilian clothes, withdrew money from an ATM, first went to Mugla city center by minibus, then without entering the bus station, hitchhiked from the road and escaped in a pickup truck all the way to Izmir Bornova.