July 15 coup attempt survivors recall night of resistance 10 years on

Two survivors wounded by putschist soldiers at Istanbul’s Orhanli toll booths during Türkiye’s defeated July 15, 2016 coup attempt have recalled the night and the injuries that changed their lives 10 years later.

Uzeyir Civan lost his left arm after being shot, while Aysenur Tolun suffered a spinal injury that has left her using a wheelchair.

Civan told Anadolu Agency that he went to the area after learning that soldiers involved in the coup attempt were trying to seize Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

‘I lost my arm, but my homeland was safe’

Having witnessed the 1980 military coup as a teenager, he said he knew the damage such interventions could cause to the country and future generations.

At the Orhanli toll booths, Civan said he initially hoped to persuade the soldiers not to take part in the coup attempt. He climbed onto barriers and led chants emphasising that soldiers and police were brothers.

The soldiers, however, opened fire on the crowd, forcing him to take cover behind a bitumen tanker.

When the gunfire stopped, Civan said he approached the soldiers with his hands raised and asked them not to shoot. They opened fire again, striking him in the left arm.

A civilian used a T-shirt to apply pressure to the wound before Civan was taken to a hospital, where doctors were unable to save his arm.

“When I woke up, I asked whether the events were over and whether the homeland was safe,” he said.

“I had lost my arm, but my homeland was safe. Nothing else mattered. Even if 50 years pass, we will continue to carry that day in our hearts.”

‘People you believed were protecting your country were firing at you’