Ömer Halisdemir

The coup attempt failed nationwide as the rebels were met with a fierce resistance from the public, police and loyalist military. The whole coup attempt was suppressed within the early hours of July 16. The pro-coup military personnel, who tried to capture the Special Forces Command and killed Sgt. Halisdemir, were arrested. Trial of the seventeen officers began on February 20, 2017. They are each facing a life sentence if found guilty.

On the night of July 15, the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, Maj. Gen. Aksakallı heard about the coup attempt as he was not present in the headquarters. His official car was intercepted by three military vehicles on the way to the Presidential Complex. He nevertheless managed to get away from the ambush of the pro-coup troops, which were seeking to capture him. He learned that Brigadier general Semih Terzi, commander of the 1st Special Forces Brigade in Silopi, southeastern Anatolia, was assigned by the coup plotters to take over the Special Forces Command. He quickly ordered his right-hand man, the staff sergeant Halisdemir by phone to take out Terzi in order to prevent this action.

Ömer Halisdemir was buried in his hometown, Çukurkuyu, on July 17, 2016. His funeral was attended by high-ranking local officials and thousands of others.

In 1999, Ömer Halisdemir joined the Turkish Armed Forces as a non-commissioned officer of the infantry. He served in southeastern Turkey in Şırnak, Silopi and also outside the country in Northern Iraq and Afghanistan. He became a senior sergeant major (Turkish: Astsubay Kıdemli Başçavuş). He was a very successful serviceman fulfilling critical tasks, and was awarded various military decorations. Finally, he was deployed to a strategic position at the Turkish Army's elite Special Forces Command, stationed at the headquarters in Ankara, as the staff sergeant of the commander Major general Zekai Aksakallı (born 1962). He served a long time as an aide for Gen. Aksakallı.

Ömer Halisdemir (February 20, 1974 – July 16, 2016) was a Turkish non-commissioned officer, who was killed on duty in the night of failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, immediately after he shot dead pro-coup general Semih Terzi and prevented the capture of the headquarters of the Special Forces Command in Ankara by the rebel forces. His actions are recognized as a major reason for the failure of the coup attempt.

Ömer Halisdemir was born as one of the seven children to Hasan Hüseyin Halisdemir and his wife Fadimeana at Çukurkuyu town in Bor district of Niğde Province, central Turkey, on February 20, 1974. He spent his childhood in his hometown. During his free time after school hours, he worked as a shepherd.