Sixty-two-year-old and the father of five children, Necati Sayın went out with his two daughters and son-in-law to stand up against the putschists on the evening of the July 15th coup attempt. Going out after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call, the family ended up with two martyrs and two veterans.
Trying to run away from the tank coming towards them in front of the intersection to the General Staff building, Necati, his son-in-law Fazıl Gür, and Ülkü Sayın fell off the bridge that they were on. Necati was hospitalized, however, he reached martyrdom towards the early morning. Sayın’s son-in-law Fazıl Gür was also among the people who were martyred.
One family; 2 martyrs, 2 veterans
On the night of July 15, Necati was with his daughters Ayşegül Sayın, Ülkü Sayın, and his son-in-law Fazıl Gür. The family went to Kızılay with their car, left the car there, and started marching towards the General Staff building. Seeing a tank run over a car and driving towards people on the intersection near the General Staff building, Necati Sayın, Ülkü Sayın and Fazıl Gür fell off the bridge they were on. His other daughter Ayşegül Sayın, was stuck hanging on the bridge. Necati was taken to the hospital severely injured. He told people he was fine with a smile on his face but he reached martyrdom at 05:30. Fazıl Gür, who was married to Sayın’s daughter, became a martyr as well.
“I am fine if my country is”
Giving up her father and brother-in-law as martyrs and being injured together with her sister on the night of the coup, Ayşe Emine Sayın spoke to Yeni Şafak about that night, “My father forgot about us as he was throwing stones at tanks. I grabbed a stone, but couldn’t throw it. I couldn’t throw it with the fear of hitting someone innocent. My father shouted out, ‘Blackguards of Pennsylvania, you are all going to die.’ The tank immediately drove towards us after he said that, everyone was running away to the sidewalks. My father and my sister Ülkü jumped in the middle of the road shouting, ‘Come if you dare, are you going to run us over?’ There were screams and ‘God is the greatest’ chants. I was dragged for two meters in five seconds. I thought my right foot was torn away. I dangled from the bridge. I opened my eyes for a moment, I saw my brother-in-law, my father and my sister lying still on the ground. If I fell, I would have fallen down on them. For a moment, I thought to myself, ‘The three of them became martyrs, I became a veteran.’ Tanks were still passing by. People were falling of the bridge one after another. I don’t remember how I got out of there. Someone took me to the hospital. My father’s lungs burst. He was hardly breathing when he arrived at the hospital. When my brother asked my father how he was feeling, he replied, ‘I am fine if the country is, thank god,’ then he died a martyr at around 05:30.”
Martyr Necati Sayın was buried in Ankara on Sunday, July 17th. The martyr’s name was given to an Anatolian imam hatip high school in Adıyaman.
