One of the most senior military figures detained on charges of involvement in Turkey’s failed coup bid appears in court Monday and denies he was the mastermind of the plot.
Looking tired and haggard with his ear bandaged in images published by state media, former air force chief General Akin Ozturk appears before the criminal court in Ankara.
The court is to decide if he and 26 other generals and admirals should be remanded in custody ahead of trial, the state-run Anadolu news agency reports.
They are accused of trying to overthrow the existing order and also of plotting to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In his statement to prosecutors, Akin denies he was the ringleader of the coup, whose identity remains unclear.
“I am not the person who planned or led the coup. Who planned it and directed it, I do not know,” Anadolu quotes him as saying.
Some state-linked Turkish media had earlier quoted him as confessing to have played a prime role in the coup, but later replaced this information with his denial.
— AFP
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