Difficult Questions from Brigadier General Sönmezateş to Zekai Aksakallı

Brigadier General Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş, who undermined the official “July 15th Narrative” imposed on the society by the dictatorial regime with his defenses and statements during the trial process, provided very important information again in his petition submitted to the Ankara 17th Heavy Penal Court on February 26, 2024.

In his petition, Sönmezateş requested the “MASAK Reports of some soldiers and their first-degree relatives” related to July 15th:

“… My assets and those of all the defendants are in the case file and anyone can examine them. To complete the missing part, the assets of the individuals below need to be examined so that we can compare them with mine and all the defendants’. This comparison will inevitably lead us to dirty money… For this reason, I request that the MASAK Reports of the following individuals be requested by your court. The names are; Hulusi Akar, Yaşar Güler, Metin Gürak, Abidin Ünal, Arif Çetin, Cihat Yaycı, Mehmet Okkan, İsmail Hakkı Pekin, Ahmet Zeki Üçok, Levent Göktaş, Levent Bektaş, Halil İbrahim Fırtına, Zekai Aksakallı, Şirin Ünal, Can Çevik, Metin Temel, Yücel Karauz, Atilla Şirin, Ömer Şevki Gençtürk, Mehmet Yüzbaşıoğlu, İrfan Özsert.

It will be seen that some individuals had sudden wealth increases of millions of dollars over the past 10 years, and this money is DIRTY MONEY. It will lead us to those responsible for July 15th.”

The Connection Between Zekai Aksakallı and Halil Falyalı

In his petition submitted to the court, Brigadier General Sönmezateş also draws attention to the connection between Zekai Aksakallı and the famous mafia boss Halil Falyalı, who was killed. Sönmezateş states that while Zekai Aksakallı was in charge of civilian affairs in Cyprus, he had close ties with Falyalı and became close to the mafia. Sönmezateş states:

“A special forces colonel stated that while Zekai Aksakallı was on civilian affairs duty in Cyprus, he had close relations with Falyalı and became closer to the mafia. The details of the relationships are not clear, and Falyalı is also dead.”

Did Zekai Aksakallı Get Involved in Dirty and Lucrative Businesses in Northern Iraq?

In his petition, Sönmezateş states that Zekai Aksakallı got involved in dirty and profitable business deals in Northern Iraq and that Brigadier General Semih Terzi had a file about this. Sönmezateş says:

“A land forces general said in court: ‘During a conversation we had with Semih Terzi, he stated that Zekai Aksakallı got involved in dirty and profitable businesses in Northern Iraq. As far as I understand, Semih Terzi had a file about Zekai Aksakallı. Semih Terzi is dead, and the file is missing.’”

Sönmezateş: “Zekai Aksakallı, Did Falyalı Blackmail You? Did You Have a Tape of Him?”

Sönmezateş also addresses the torture Zekai Aksakallı carried out on soldiers during and after July 15th, asking:

“Now, let’s talk about money, there is only one thing Zekai Aksakallı can do. He should declare the movable and immovable assets of himself and his first-degree relatives both inside and outside the country over the past 10 years. This will reveal the file on Zekai Aksakallı held by Semih Terzi.”

“Zekai Aksakallı, did Falyalı blackmail you? Did you have a tape of him?”

“In the events in Northern Iraq, how much money are we talking about? Or do you also have a 5 million debt?”

Fatih Ayhan Acar

Source:

Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş’s Petition for Expanding the Investigation, dated February 26, 2024, and related to the MASAK Reports of soldiers concerning the July 15th events, filed with Ankara 17th Heavy Penal Court, file numbers 2019/1, 2019/9.