Lawyers who represented victims and monitored the landmark trials following the defeated July 15, 2016, failed coup attempt say the years-long judicial process exposed the full structure of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) while delivering justice for hundreds of victims and documenting one of Türkiye's darkest nights.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) ahead of the 10th anniversary of the failed coup, prosecutors' representatives and lawyers who took part in the proceedings recalled years of hearings involving millions of pages of evidence, thousands of defendants and victims, and what they described as persistent attempts by coup plotters to deny overwhelming proof.
Attorney Yasin Şamlı, president of the Istanbul No. 2 Bar Association, who represented the Presidency in numerous July 15-related cases, said nearly all coup trials have concluded, with only a handful of retrials and fugitive cases remaining.
He described the judiciary's response on the night of the coup attempt as a turning point, saying, "Unlike previous coups in Türkiye's history, the judiciary stood against the coup."
Şamlı said many defendants adopted a strategy of denying even the clearest evidence, recalling cases in which suspects denied recognizing their own relatives or rejected video footage showing them opening fire on civilians.
