Former Commander of the Turkish Air Force Tahsin Şahinkaya, one of the five generals of 1980 Coup d'etat, died in hospital in İstanbul.
He was born in 1925
Tahsin Şahinkaya was born in 1925 in Merzifon district of Amasya province. He was Commander of the Turkish Air Force from 1978 to 1983, and previously Secretary-General of the National Security Council (1977-1978). He was one of the five leaders of the 1980 military coup and after the coup he was a member of the Presidential Council. He retired on December 6, 1983 voluntarily.
The richest general
TIME Magazine showed Tahsin Şahinkaya as one of the richest generals in the world. It was claimed that Şahinkaya was worth 20 billion dollar and he gained this amount while F-16 Fighting Falcons were bought by the state after 1980 Coup d’etat.
He was given life sentence
In 2012 a court case was launched against Tahsin Şahinkaya and Kenan Evren, 7th President of Turkey and leader of 1980 Coup d’etat, relating to the 1980 military coup. Ankara 10th High Criminal Court gave them life imprisonment. (HK/BD)
* Photo Credit Hüseyin Tek / AA
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