The Turkish community in the U.S. also ran an advertisement in The Washington Post pushing for the extradition of FETÖ's ringleader, who lives in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Türkiye has been pressing for years for the U.S. to send him back so he can face justice.
Ceremonies were also organized by Türkiye's Communications Directorate and held at the July 15 monuments in Istanbul and Ankara paying tribute to the valor of the 251 souls killed in the defeated coup.
SYMBOLS OF TURKISH RESISTANCE
Ömer Halisdemir, who was shot to death by a senior coup plotter, became a symbol of the Turkish resistance to the defeated coup.
When pro-coup Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi attempted to seize control of the Special Forces Command in Ankara, Halisdemir shot him. But Halisdemir was later shot and killed with dozens of bullets from pro-coup FETÖ-affiliated soldiers.
Halisdemir, 41, was married and had two children.
Sgt. Bülent Aydın was dubbed "the first martyr" of the night of July 15, in line with official records.
Aydın worked at the Special Operations Department and though he was eligible for retirement five years before the fateful day, he kept working because "he was still young," in his own words.
Resisting the coup plotters, he tried to hold onto the Turkish flag in front of the General Staff headquarters.
Aydın, 47, was also married and had two children.
Burak Cantürk was among many students killed during the night of July 15.
Cantürk, 23, studied at Balıkesir University and supported himself by working as a waiter at a restaurant in Çengelköy, Istanbul during the summer.
A coup plotter shot him that night.
Inside the restaurant, Cantürk's colleagues set up a commemorative photo corner to keep their memories of him alive.
Cennet Yiğit, 22, was one of the youngest victims of the coup plotters.
She was a deputy inspector at the Special Operations Department in Gölbaşı, Ankara when coup plotters bombed the office building.
Cennet Yiğit was unmarried when she was killed, but had scheduled an engagement ceremony within a month.
When she was killed, it had been just 10 months since she began her childhood dream of becoming a police officer.
