An investigation by Turkish authorities has determined that the plan leading up to the July 15, 2016, coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) took shape in eight months of secret meetings conducted between Ankara, Istanbul and the US state of Pennsylvania by civilian operatives and coup plotters, following instructions from FETO leader Fetullah Gulen.
It found that FETO put its plan into motion immediately after the Nov. 1, 2015, general elections.
The process began after Gulen, whose efforts to seize control of the state through political influence and the bureaucracy failed to produce the desired outcome at the ballot box, instructed the organization to pursue a coup.
Following the first planning meeting in Pennsylvania on Nov. 14 - 15, 2015, the core leadership of the coup network was established.
The junta group, led by FETO's so-called civilian imams Adil Oksuz and Kemal Batmaz, shuttled between Ankara, Istanbul and the organization's headquarters in Pennsylvania to finalize the coup plan.
The coup group, which took shape after Oksuz's visit to the US, included Kemal Batmaz, Hakan Cicek, Nurettin Oruc, Harun Binis and Ozcan Aytuluner.
The group held its first meetings with military members of the organization in Ankara on Dec. 27-31, 2015, to coordinate the military wing of the plot. Reports from the meetings were immediately taken by Oksuz and Batmaz to Pennsylvania for ringleader Gulen's approval.
Preparations accelerated during the first months of 2016. A series of meetings involving senior military officers was held at safe houses in Ankara in January, February and March.
During meetings on Jan. 9, 16 and 30; Feb. 20 and 29; and March 14, the plotters identified military units and personnel who would participate in the coup.
The information collected and draft plans prepared by mid-March were again taken to the US for Gulen's approval.
Meetings in Ankara continued under strict secrecy on March 30, May 5 and 27, June 4 and 15. As planning neared completion, Oksuz, Batmaz and Oruc traveled again to Pennsylvania between June 20 and 25, where they received final instructions regarding the operational plan before returning to Türkiye.
By July, preparations entered their final stage. Under Oksuz's leadership, uninterrupted meetings were held from July 6 - 9 at a rented villa in Ankara.
Military officers from the air and land forces discussed final details, including strategic locations to be seized in Ankara and Istanbul, public officials to be detained, and the deployment of military vehicles, helicopters and fighter jets.
Days before the coup attempt, Oksuz and Batmaz traveled to Pennsylvania for the last time July 12, to hold what was described as the "Final Evaluation of Coup Preparations" meeting with Gulen. The so-called civilian imams returned to Istanbul on July 13 and began final inspections on the ground.
Between July 12 and 15, final coordination meetings were held with coup-linked officers at Maltepe Barracks, the Air Force Academy and the Air Force War College in Istanbul. Numerous generals and senior officers gathered at the Air Force Academy despite not being assigned there.
With the return of the organization's alleged civilian operatives to Ankara on July 14, preparations for the coup attempt planned for the evening of July 15 were completed.
The plotters failed, however, to anticipate the resistance of the Turkish people, who responded to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call by risking their lives and taking to the streets to fight the coup attempt.
