"Turkey calls on those responsible for the 1980 coup to be accountable”

Facing trial for forcibly altering the constitution, powerful former military leaders Kenan Evren and Tahsin Şahinkaya will have their ranks as generals revoked to private status. As a result, 32 years later, the five former members of the National Security Council, three of which have since passed, may also be revoked from pasha to private status. This procedure was previously witnessed when İlhami Erdil, a former commander of the Naval Forces, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for corruption and had his admiral rank reduced to that of a private soldier.

The indictment for the 1980 coup, prepared by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor, requests the defendants, former Chief of General Staff Kenan Evren and Air Force Commander Tahsin Şahinkaya, be charged with life imprisonment without parole.

Evren and Şahinkaya will face trial by the Ankara 12th High Criminal Court which oversees crimes that fall into the article 250 category of the Criminal Code. The indictment lists the crimes the two pashas are tried for as follows: "For attempting to completely or partially alter the Turkish Republic Constitution and attempting to eradicate Turkey's Grand National Assembly as established by the Constitution or to use violent means to Obstruct Turkey's Grand National Assembly from Duty."

According to information obtained from SABAH's Special Intelligence Department, both Evren and Şahinkaya will be brought to face the judge one time in a symbolic gesture, however they will remain exempt from participating in further hearings. If the trial results in sentencing, then due to the defendants' age and medical conditions, instead of being placed in a penitentiary, they will serve out their sentences under house arrest, as was the case for former Refah Party leader Necmettin Erbakan. They will have to periodically arrive to the police station to sign their signature and if not police officers will check up on them at home. If charged, both Evren and Şahinkaya will not be allowed to leave the country.

SWORDS TO BE RETURNED
Should Kenan Evren and Tahsin Şahinkaya be sentenced for "forcibly altering the constitution" then the medals of service, the badges and gold encased swords given to them for their superior service at the time, will be confiscated.

Kayasu: Those responsible for the coup should remain in prison until they die
Former Prosecutor Sacit Kayasu, who was dismissed following the preparation of the indictment on Kenan Evren, commented that the acceptance of the indictment on the 1980 coup proves that he was right. Kayasu goes on to express that with the indictment being accepted, millions of victims of the coup will be able to feel less victimized, even if minutely so. Kayasu states; "Those responsible for the coup should be punished with life imprisonment and they should remain in prison until they pass."

This is a translation of an article originally written by Abdurrahman Şimşek.