Turkish security forces located Adil Öksüz, the prime suspect of a failed coup last year, when he was trying to flee Turkey but failed to catch him, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the Ankara West Public Prosecutor’s Office asked that security forces locate Öksüz by following his mobile phone signals on July 20, 2016. Ankara 1st Penal Court of Peace Judge Çetin Sönmez concurred and gave the order to locate Öksüz.
On the same day Öksüz called the Sakarya University Rector’s Office and a number in the Akyazı district of Sakarya. According to his mobile phone signals, Öksüz was in Akyazı; however, he was not apprehended by security forces as his mobile was switched off and never again turned on.
The pro-government Yeni Şafak daily claimed on Aug. 16, 2017 that Öksüz was seen in various German cities and he had received temporary residence in Germany.
In response to a diplomatic note from Turkey that asked Germany to confirm whether media reports claiming that Öksüz is in Germany are accurate and to return him to Turkey in the event he is found there, Berlin said there is no information that confirms that Öksüz is in Germany.
The report came three days after main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Öksüz was working for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), asking the government to clarify questions concerning the coup attempt.
The Turkish government claims that before the July 2016 coup attempt, Öksüz traveled to the US, where he visited Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the Gülen movement.
Photographs of Öksüz and his child with Gülen at the Golden Generation Retreat and Recreation Center Pennsylvania where the Turkish scholar has been living since 1999 have appeared in the Turkish press as proof of Gülen’s personal involvement in the coup bid.
“When you consider Adil Öksüz, they found him somewhere, I don’t remember where it was, and then they released him, and then there turned out be a tie between him and Turkish intelligence,” Gülen said in an interview with France24 last month.
The Turkish government accuses faith-based Gülen movement of mounting the botched coup attempt, while Gülen denies any involvement.