32 years on, former generals go on trial for bloody 1980 coup

More than 30 years after the Sept. 12 military takeover, the Ankara 12th High Criminal Court began hearing the case against 94-year-old Evren, who went on to serve for seven years as president, as well as the other surviving coup architect, Sahinkaya, 86. The trial of the two surviving leaders of the bloody Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, which derailed Turkish democracy and led to extensive violations of human rights, began in Ankara on Wednesday amid hopes that this trial will give Turkey the opportunity to confront its coup tradition. Fifty people were executed and half a million arrested, hundreds died in jail, and many more disappeared in three years of military rule after the coup, Turkey's third in 20 years. There are some 500 co-plaintiffs in the case, which include representatives of eight political parties and Parliament. Sixty of the co-plaintiff lawyers and three defense lawyers attended the first hearing. The trial of the coup leaders was made possible by a government-sponsored reform package that was approved in a referendum in 2010. Among other things, the reform package annulled a constitutional article that served as a legal shield for the coup leaders. Commenting on the landmark trial on Wednesday, President Abdullah Gul said, "The trial will lead to a significant change in mentality that will prevent any similar attempts in the future." He also called on the nation to show the same solidarity it showed on Wednesday when making a new constitution to replace the current one, which was prepared by the 1980 coup leaders. Thousands of leftist and rightist protesters gathered outside the court, waving flags and shouting slogans demanding justice and the prosecution of more than just the coup's ring-leaders. There was also a small group of elderly former officers, thrown out of the army for refusing to take part in the coup.