July 15 photo exhibition opens in Georgia

TBILISI, Georgia

An exhibition of Anadolu Agency photos and video footage taken during the night of the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey opened in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday.

Organized by Anadolu Agency and the Yunus Emre Institute's Tbilisi branch, the exhibit shows the dramatic events of the night of the attempted coup and its immediate aftermath.

"I believe that the heroic fight of our people the night of the coup contributed not only to democracy and peace in Turkey but also to regional peace," said Turkish Ambassador to Georgia Zeki Levent Gumrukcu at the exhibit.

He said the fight of the Turkish people to protect their democracy is also significant for the democratic process in other countries.

Tolga Ozgenc, Anadolu Agency’s Asia and Caucasus regional representative, said that during the defeated coup the agency became the voice of the Turkish nation.

On July 15, a coup attempt in Turkey by a minority within the armed forces left 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey accuses the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) – led by Fetullah Gulen, a resident of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania – of organizing the July 15 defeated coup as well as a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Reporting by Davit Kachkachishvili; Writing by Ayşe Hümeyra Atılgan;