05.08.2026 19:50
Former Captain Burkay Karatepe, who was involved in the assassination attempt against President Erdogan in Marmaris on July 15 and had been sought with a red notice for 10 years, has been arrested. Karatepe, who was caught in Afyonkarahisar and brought to Mugla, said in his statement, 'My crime is proven, I regret it,' confessing that he used the code name 'Selim,' met with Gulen in Pennsylvania, and personally opened fire on the police officers that night. The treacherous coup plotter was arrested and sent to prison.
Burkay Karatepe, a former captain and FETO member who was sought with a red notice for 10 years for his involvement in the assassination attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Marmaris during the July 15 coup attempt, has been arrested. Karatepe, caught in Afyonkarahisar through a joint operation by MIT's facial recognition system and police units, was sent to prison by the criminal judgeship of peace after his procedures at the Mugla Counter-Terrorism (TEM) Branch.
HE SAID "I OBEYED THE IMAM'S INSTRUCTION" AND LISTED HIS CONFESSIONS
Striking details emerged during former pilot captain Burkay Karatepe's interrogation by the prosecutor's office and the court. Karatepe, who admitted his crime by saying "My crime is proven, I regret it," provided important information about the secret structure within the organization.
Karatepe, who stated that he used the code name "Selim" within the terrorist organization, confessed that in 2012, during a military course in the USA, he went to Pennsylvania and had a face-to-face meeting with the organization's ringleader Fetullah Gulen for 10-15 minutes. Karatepe also confirmed before the court that he personally fired at President Erdogan's protective police officers at the hotel in Marmaris on the night of the treacherous July 15 coup attempt.
MARMARIS ATTACK AND TRIAL PROCESS
During the attack on the hotel where President Erdogan was staying on the night of the coup, protective police officer Mehmet Cetin and police officer Nedip Cengiz Eker were martyred. The team members who fled to the forested area after the attack were caught within 17 days, and Burkay Karatepe was the only fugitive name of the assassination team.
In the case previously heard at the Mugla 2nd Heavy Penal Court, 31 defendants, including former brigadier general Gokhan Sahin Sonmezates, former major Sukru Seymen, and former non-commissioned officer Zekeriya Kuzu, nicknamed "Pasha," had been sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment four times each.