Ten Years After the Coup Attempt: Erdoğan Uses the Anniversary as a Symbol of Power

Erdogan himself narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at his holiday resort in Marmaris. In the middle of coup night, he called it "a gift from God." Shortly afterward, he declared a state of emergency that only ended in July 2018. He blamed the coup attempt on the by-now-deceased Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen and his followers. Gülen, who had been allied with Erdogan until their public rupture in 2013 and had lived in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, consistently denied any involvement. He died in 2024.

Former investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, who long reported on the Gülen movement, assumed an alliance between Gülen followers and other actors within the Turkish military. In Turkey, the Gülen movement has been classified as a terrorist organization ever since. The Turkish parliament did set up an investigation commission in 2016, with lawmakers from both government and opposition taking part. However, key figures such as Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar and the then-head of the Turkish intelligence service MIT – and current foreign minister – Hakan Fidan did not testify.

Harshness Under the State of Emergency

During the state of emergency, authorities cracked down hard on alleged supporters of the Gülen movement. By decree, more than 100,000 public servants were dismissed, including teachers, judges, prosecutors, doctors, academics, and police officers. Tens of thousands of people were arrested, and numerous media outlets and publishers were shut down. According to the state-run news agency Anadolu, a total of 289 cases were opened against alleged coup plotters. They were concluded at first instance in 2021. A total of 4,891 people were convicted, including on charges of "membership in an armed terrorist organization" and "aiding and abetting the violation of the constitutional order." Among those convicted are senior military officers as well as police officers and civilians. 1,634 of the defendants were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

Still under the state of emergency, Erdogan had a referendum on the presidential system held in 2017, which was introduced a year later. Critics see this as a watershed moment that extends beyond the immediate night of the coup. July 15 has since become an official public holiday – the government celebrates it as a triumph and imbues the date with great symbolism. Erdogan's Islamist-conservative AKP government is planning nationwide celebrations for the anniversary under the motto "Unser Wille – unser Sieg".

Political Consequences and Criticism

From the government's perspective, the legal reckoning is largely complete, but allegations of insufficient proceedings persist. Detainees have in turn filed cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), where they denounce their prison conditions. Academics dismissed by decree are still trying to win their reinstatement in court.

An investigation by the Italian human rights organization "Italian Federation for Human Rights – Italian Helsinki Committee" concludes that the mass dismissals and stigmatizations, without completed judicial proceedings, have led to a "social death" for many people. The report documents the ongoing exclusion, stigmatization, and blocked prospects. "Fast zwei Drittel der Befragten konnten nach ihrer Entlassung keine formal versicherte Beschäftigung finden".

The Anniversary as a Symbol

The breadth of those affected – from teachers and judges to doctors – makes the coup attempt a turning point that changed Turkey well beyond that night. While the government stages the anniversary as a symbol of civic resistance, human rights organizations point to ongoing restrictions and unresolved fates.

On the anniversary, large-scale events featuring speeches by Erdoğan are on the schedule. Observers expect the president to once again frame the events as proof of the need for the presidential system and a hard line against the Gülen movement. As a result, July 15, 2016 remains a date on which state self-staging and open questions about the rule of law stand face to face.