Dear friends and colleagues Many of you asked about us over the last two days and I wanted to share a short note and say that the coup attempt on July 15 has been thwarted and we are all well including my family. Heartfelt thanks to those who asked about our wellbeing and sent messages of support and solidarity. What began as a dark night on July 15 2016 turned out to be one of the brightest days of our recent history. Within hours of the failed coup attempt by a small group of Gulenists within the Turkish army and the judiciary, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to stop this shameless attempt. The honorable sons and daughters of this brave nation did not hesitate to throw themselves in front of tanks and gun-holding soldiers. We lost more than 160 security forces and civilians. Among them are several very close and dear friends. My God bless their souls. They did not die in vain. They will be remembered as martyrs of democracy. On that fateful night, rank and file soldiers under the order of the coup generals fired on unarmed people on the streets, killing dozens in Istanbul and Ankara. They dropped bombs on the Turkish Grand Assembly – an unbelievable atrocity given the fact it has not been attacked even during the national war of independence. They bombed the Turkish Presidency, killing several people. They bombed the Turkish Intelligence headquarters in Ankara. They attacked the hotel in Marmaris where President Erdogan was in vacation with his family. They fired at the Prime Minister’s convoy near Cankiri but without any casualties. The tanks rolled in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara crushing dozens of cars and killing a dozen or so people. They invaded TRT, the public broadcasting company of Turkey, in both Ankara and Istanbul and forced the news presenter to read their declaration. They bombed TURKSAT, the satellite company headquarters to stop all communication in the country. They also invaded CNNTurk, a private TV channel, throwing people on the ground and shouting that the Turkish army has taken over the country. The fighting continued into the early hours of July 16. We spent the night coordinating our counter measures and end the occupation of official headquarters. The coup plot that began around 21.00 PM on July 15 with the closure of the Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul and the mobilization of several military units in Ankara was stopped around 3 AM on July 16. Upon the call of President Erdogan, hundreds of thousands of people remained on the streets, waving Turkish flags and shouting ‘no to coup, we will defend our democracy…’ Order has now been restored. More than two thousand commanders and soldiers as well as dozens of judges and prosecutors who collaborated with the coup plotters have been arrested. The army chief and other top commanders, taken hostage on the night of the coup, have been rescued and returned to their posts. The Secretary General of the Turkish Presidency, also taken hostage, has been released. Eight generals who orchestrated the coup fled to Greece in a helicopter. The helicopter has been returned to Turkey and the generals will be extradited. This was a dark and painful day. But it ended up as a bright and honorable day for democracy and rule of law in Turkey. All political parties, NGOs, business communities and the Turkish media, regardless of their political views, have taken a united position against the coup. We have received strong international support as well. Shamefully, some have not missed the opportunity to express their dismay and disappointment that the coup has failed, and these include some political analysts and public intellectuals in Europe and the US. After two sleepless and tense days, we are all well now. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. Regards, Ibrahim | 
