On the night of July 15, 2016, Lieutenant Abdülkadir Karadag was dispatched to protect the Presidential Palace in Ankara, unaware that the operation was part of a coup attempt. Though officially a lieutenant, Karadag was still undergoing his pre-field training and had limited command experience. His fellow officer and close friend, Muhammed Emin Gundogdu, later offered a poignant account of that night, emphasizing the confusion that engulfed them.
According to Gundogdu, they were told of a possible terrorist threat and ordered to prepare accordingly. Live ammunition was issued—an unusual step that signaled urgency. “We assumed it was another terror alert, like ones we’d encountered before in Ankara,” he explained.
Karadag volunteered for the mission, saying, “Gentlemen, I’m going to protect the Presidential Palace.” He was among 40 officers sent out. Tragically, he was killed in front of the palace, alongside Ramazan Erdoğan. Another lieutenant, Zafer Karslı, was critically injured and passed away years later from his wounds.
Gundogdu’s account makes clear that they had no knowledge of any coup. They believed they were defending a vital institution under threat. In reality, they were unknowingly being used in an unlawful attempt to seize power.
After the failed coup, Gundogdu was arrested and spent eight months in prison. Upon release, he visited Karadağ’s grave. “It felt like a window to paradise,” he recalled, mourning the loss of a loyal friend who had simply followed orders in good faith.
Karadag‘s story reflects the tragic cost of that night—not just in lives lost, but in the betrayal of trust experienced by young officers who believed they were serving their nation.
We, Right Defenders Initiative (RDI), call for Lieutenant Abdulkadir Karadag’s name to be officially cleared and honored as a victim of state betrayal—not a perpetrator of crime. His story is just one of many unjust deaths that occurred in Turkiye on July 15th, 2016, when countless innocent military personnel were misled under false pretenses and later had their names wrongly tarnished. The circumstances of his death—being sent without full information into a conflict zone, shot without resistance, and never properly investigated—raise serious concerns of human rights violations, including the right to life, the right to due process, and the presumption of innocence. We urge authorities to restore his record, recognize his loyalty, and publicly acknowledge the injustices suffered by him and many others like him.
https://www.tr724.com/delik-desik-kan-davasi-cenaze-torbasinda-tarifsiz-aci/
