Levent Kenez/Stockholm
Retired Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı, a key figure in a controversial coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, and a former commander of the Turkish Special Forces, has been appointed chairman of OYAK (Ordu Yardımlaşma Kurulu), the military’s pension and investment fund. The powerful fund is affiliated with the Turkish Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense. OYAK owns more than 130 companies in 20 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Aksakallı faced serious allegations including torture, illicit enrichment and cooperating with Turkish intelligence in transferring funds and weapons to jihadist groups in Syria during his military tenure.
According to reports in the Turkish media, the leadership change came just one-and-a-half months after OYAK’s most recent general assembly, where a new board of directors was selected. Retired Maj. Gen. Mehmet Taş, who had been serving as chairman, announced that he had handed over the role to Aksakallı on July 1, 2025.
Aksakallı came to public attention during a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. At the time he was commander of the Special Forces and was officially credited with helping to thwart the coup by ordering the execution of Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi, who was allegedly assigned by the plotters to take control of the Special Forces Command. Aksakallı ordered Sgt. Maj. Ömer Halisdemir to shoot Terzi upon his arrival at the Special Forces Command in Ankara. Halisdemir shot Terzi and was himself killed by an officer accompanying Terzi. He was later turned into a mythical figure in the government’s narrative surrounding July 15.
However, it emerged that Aksakallı had arranged Terzi’s flight to Ankara from Silopi, a district near Turkey’s border with Syria and Iraq, and facilitated its takeoff despite a nationwide no-fly order that night. Though he appeared to be helping Terzi, some reports suggest he was actually luring him into a trap by facilitating his arrival in the capital.
Terzi initially survived the shooting and was taken to a hospital. Although eyewitnesses said he was conscious and close to overcoming his life-threatening injuries, he died under suspicious circumstances. His wife, Dr. Nazire Terzi, who attempted to investigate his death, was arrested and sentenced to almost seven years in prison in 2020 after an earlier 18-year sentence was overturned on appeal.
Immediately after the coup attempt, the pro-government media claimed Terzi’s phone contained many messages related to the abortive putsch. However, an expert report by Turkish police found that the messages were uploaded to his phone after his death, raising questions about the authenticity of the evidence.
In court testimony military officers accused of participating in the coup said Aksakallı and Terzi had a strained relationship. Some claimed Terzi was uncomfortable with Aksakallı’s alleged illegal activities in Syria, conducted jointly with the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and that he may have been executed for this reason.
According to a report by Nordic Monitor, Col. Fırat Alakuş, a former officer in the intelligence division of the Special Forces, testified in March 2019 at the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court that Terzi had discovered Aksakallı was secretly working with MIT to conduct illegal operations in Syria for personal gain. Alakuş said Terzi knew how much of the Qatari funding intended for arming Syrian opposition groups was actually used for that purpose, how much was embezzled and which public officials were involved. He asserted that this knowledge was the real reason behind Aksakallı’s execution order.
He also claimed Terzi was aware of Turkey’s involvement in oil smuggling from Syria and how government officials were aiding extremist militant commanders. According to Alakuş, Terzi opposed Turkish intelligence supplying weapons and training to radical groups portrayed as moderate rebels. He concluded Terzi’s death resulted from a trap set by Aksakallı to keep such information from becoming public.
Alakuş was sentenced to life in prison in June 2019 after being convicted of participating in the coup attempt.
Alakuş’s statement on Terzi, who was aware of ISIS oil smuggling facilitated by elements within the Turkish government and was killed during the failed coup in 2016:
Another allegation against Aksakallı came from Derviş Taş, a 37-year-old Special Forces sergeant who testified under oath at the same court. He claimed that Aksakallı, during a 2016 visit to the Turkish-Syrian border, personally ordered snipers to shoot and kill Syrian government soldiers without provocation.
Additional information that emerged after the coup indicated that Aksakallı had coordinated his actions on July 15, 2025 with the intelligence agency. Witnesses confirmed that on the night before the coup, July 14, 2016, he had a secret overnight meeting with then-MIT chief Hakan Fidan, who is now foreign minister, following a military graduation ceremony.
According to government critics, the 2016 coup attempt was a false-flag operation allegedly orchestrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan along with MIT and then-chief of general staff Hulusi Akar. They argue that a small group of officers believed they were participating in a real coup led by Akar, while others were told they were responding to a terrorist threat. Once they realized they had been misled, many officers surrendered but still faced harsh penalties.
Part of the court transcript of the testimony of Sgt. Derviş Taş, who revealed the plan to kill Syrian government troops without any provocation:
The official account states that only 8,651 military members took part in the coup, corresponding to 1.5 percent of the Turkish Armed Forces. Of those, 1,761 were conscripts and 1,214 were military cadets. Given that some 150 generals and thousands of lower-ranking officers were sentenced on coup charges, military experts find it odd that such a small number of troops allegedly participated. Many believe it was a false-flag operation Erdoğan used to purge his opponents within the military and consolidate power.
Aksakallı’s own actions on the night of July 15, 2016, have also come under scrutiny. Reports later revealed he was hiding in an undisclosed location with his wife during the height of the attempted coup. In testimony to the Malatya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, then-2nd Army commander İsmail Metin Temel said Aksakallı had called him and said, “The headquarters has been occupied, I’m at home.” When Temel urged him to return to his post, Aksakallı allegedly replied, “I need to calm my wife.”
In the video below, Zekai Aksakallı, wearing an orange shirt, is seen kicking soldiers lying on the ground with their hands cuffed behind their backs. Aksakallı had hidden in a secret location during the July 15, 2016, coup attempt but appeared at Special Forces headquarters the following day.:
On July 16, 2016, after the coup attempt had been suppressed, Aksakallı appeared at Special Forces headquarters. Footage later showed him kicking and physically abusing handcuffed officers, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
In later statements Aksakallı said that throughout the night he coordinated efforts against the coup attempt by contacting the prime minister, interior minister, MİT chief, deputy head of police intelligence, various governors and trusted military commanders across the country.
After 2016 Aksakallı was promoted to lieutenant general and led Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkey’s military campaign in northern Syria. During the operation, both military and political figures criticized him for poor coordination. Erdogan later appointed another general to oversee the campaign. A year later, Aksakallı was removed from his post as head of the Special Forces and reassigned to the 2nd Corps Command. He was forced into retirement in 2020 due to “a lack of available posts,” a move widely seen as a humiliating end to his career.
His retirement was believed to be due in part to disagreements with then-defense minister Akar.
Despite being a complainant in trials related to the coup, Aksakallı was never summoned to testify in open court, even when defendants requested it. Instead, he gave testimony during a private session not attended by any defendants. In his statement he said, “In crises or extraordinary situations, the first order given in the Turkish Armed Forces is ‘Personnel must not leave the barracks.’ Unit commanders continue to carry our their duties at their posts. This basic rule, which is always followed, was not applied on July 15, 2016. Had it been, the coup attempt would have been exposed from the outset.” His remarks were interpreted as a veiled criticism of Akar’s failure to prevent the coup and seen by some as a warning that he might reveal more if betrayed by his former allies.
Aksakallı’s appointment to lead a wealthy and powerful institution like OYAK is seen by some as political rehabilitation. Others interpret it as a strategic move by current Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, signaling his dominance over Akar, who is rumored to be seeking a return to the cabinet. Since such an appointment could not have been made without Erdogan’s approval, it would not be wrong to say that Erdogan is siding with both Güler and Aksakallı.
OYAK, established in 1961, is one of Turkey’s leading pension institutions. As of 2023, it managed total assets of about $30.25 billion. Its holdings span multiple sectors — cement, mining, automotive, energy, finance, agriculture, logistics and chemicals — through major subsidiaries such as Erdemir, OYAK Renault, OYAK Cement and Akdeniz Chemson.
OYAK also has strategic interests in Turkey’s defense industry via affiliated companies, supporting domestic production and technology development. Structured to maintain long-term financial security for its roughly 470,000 members, OYAK continues to play a significant economic role both nationally and internationally.
