12 September Coup and Crimes Against Humanity Debate

The incidents, in which 10-15 people were killed every day until the evening of September 11, 1980, came to an end on September 12, 1980. However, until September 11, there was martial law throughout the country. They had all the authority to prevent terrorism. However, years later, we understood from Kenan Evren's memoirs that they wanted more people to die to legitimize the coup, so they did not use their authority.

The subject of the case filed in Ankara in 2012 against Evren, the then Chief of General Staff who carried out the coup, and Tahsin Şahinkaya, the then Air Force Commander, was "eliminating the constitutional order by force of arms, abolishing the constitution, banning the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and overthrowing the government". According to our old Penal Code, the punishment for these crimes was death, but since the death penalty was abolished, the penalty requested for the defendants was aggravated life imprisonment. The indictment was incomplete in this aspect. Because, as the intervening lawyers, our request was that the case be opened with the allegation of "crimes against humanity". Our request for the court to correct this deficiency and continue the trial within this scope was not met. However, if the trial had been carried out within the framework of crimes against humanity, the September 12 case would not have been limited to just two old generals; It included all military, administrative and judicial officials of the period.

LEGAL DIMENSION

Crimes against humanity; These are crimes committed systematically and in line with a plan against a segment of the society based on political, philosophical, racial or religious considerations. With the September 12 coup, crimes of murder, torture, torment and deprivation of liberty were committed against thousands of people. These crimes were carried out by the perpetrators under their command, with the instructions and knowledge of those who carried out the coup.

There is no statute of limitations for crimes committed against humanity. Judges of the International Criminal Court established for the former Yugoslavia have decided that crimes against humanity exceed individual boundaries. Because even when a single person is attacked, humanity itself is directly targeted. In crimes against humanity, the value represented by the victim - that is, humanity - violates a universal and much broader benefit beyond the rights of the person who is directly victimized.

SYSTEMATIC TORTURE

With the September 12 coup, crimes against humanity were committed within the chain of command in Turkey. Systematic torture was applied in many prisons, especially in Diyarbakır and Mamak, and thousands of people were killed. More than 50 people were executed by the September 12 junta. Thousands of people were held in prisons without question for years. Those who were lucky to survive these tortures and the families of those who lost their lives joined the September 12 case as interveners and wanted those responsible to be tried and punished. As approximately 60 human rights defenders from different bar associations in Turkey, we served as voluntary lawyers for the victims of the September 12 coup. Our aim was to keep the military, administration and judiciary within universal law and to internalize human rights.

QUESTIONS REMAINING UNANSWERED

As intervening lawyers, we could not receive an answer to any of the more than 300 questions we posed to each of the defendants. For example; When they took the decision to make the coup, with which commanders they acted in the chain of command, what their attitude would be in case of a coup by armed forces other than their own, how these lists were created since detentions were made at the address on September 12, 1980, why no action was taken before September 12 even though their addresses were known, why the coup conditions were expected to mature at the command level; 16 March Istanbul University, why the events of 1 May 1977 and the Çorum and Maraş massacres were ignored; In the face of questions such as why there was no intervention in the murder of thousands of intellectuals, writers, journalists, students and academics in order to create expectations of a coup in the society, both defendants preferred to remain silent, showing their helplessness.

MISSED TRIAL OPPORTUNITY

Turkish judiciary; He missed a very important opportunity to shed light on a dark period and to reveal thousands of murders and torture committed by the state. Both defendants should have been detained and brought to the courtroom to be tried, just like Chilean leader Pinochet (Pinochet was 97 years old when he was tried in custody). The trial should not be limited to the day of the coup; It should have included the torture and murders before and after September 12, 1980. Failure to do so showed the government's insincerity in prosecuting the coup and its plotters.

'DECONSTITUTIONALIZATION' PROCESS

Basic laws such as political parties, elections, associations and unions enacted during the September 12, 1980 coup period continue to exist with cosmetic changes. The political institution is also stuck within the framework of these laws and prohibitions; Democracy within the party cannot be ensured. While there was a wholesale closure of parties after the September 12 coup, today the "national will" is being neutralized with the 10 percent election threshold and the actually implemented "enemy criminal law" practices.

After the referendum of September 12, 2010, the investigations launched against torturers throughout the country lagged behind the speed of an ant. The rhetoric of “zero tolerance for torture” has turned into the reality of “zero arrests for torturers”. Moreover, even registered torturers with finalized court decisions were promoted. Since July 20, 2016, with the state of emergency, judicial remedies against unlawful acts have been effectively closed.

Today, with more than 50 thousand detainees, dismissals from public service, hundreds of newspapers, magazines and television channels being closed, practices that rival September 12 are being experienced.

The once "mighty dictator" who carried out the September 12 coup died 11 years ago. However, the sad end that the September 12 dictator deserved with his actions should be a lesson to dictatorship enthusiasts all over the world.