Among the new documents are nearly 2,500 sets of pictures, most of them taken in the courtroom by the General Staff Picture Photo Film Center. Some of the live footage seems to have been set up especially for the filming of the occasion. In one such video, Celal Bayar and Adnan Menderes are seen eating a meal prepared for the film. The voiceover says, “The only thing missing is caviar on the table.” Menderes pretends to be eating for the filming to end as soon as possible. The voiceover says, “He really loves to pose.” These humiliating images are believed to be the reason behind Bayar’s suicide attempt.

The story behind the story

We started working on “The truth about Yassıada” about one-and-a-half years ago. We wondered whether there were any facts about May 27, 1960, the first coup that interrupted democracy in Turkey, which might still remain undiscovered. Our story had to be a first, and it had to be special. This is why we went after the video and voice recordings of the Yassıada trial shot for now-defunct National Unity Committee (MBK) President Gen. Cemal Gürsel. We traced these pictures and recordings, whose existence was frequently mentioned but that had never come to light. A source told me in early 2009 that he had the voice recordings from the trial. We were able to acquire these only three months ago. The voice recordings were on 300 tapes lasting more than 1,000 hours in total. Listening to these took a formidable amount of time.

We finally had the voice recordings from Yassıada, some of which had been aired on the radio in 1960. What we had to do next was to find the video footage and hundreds of pictures taken during the trial. About 20 days ago, we got a phone call. The person on the other end of the line said he had the photographs of the trial. We couldn’t have been happier.

As the Turkish saying goes, “The doctor finds the patient who will get better.” That’s exactly what happened with the video footage. I told a friend of mine who wanted to talk to me for a project that I was very busy working on a project about Yassıada for the paper. He said, “Then you certainly have to see me because I have footage you had never seen before.” For the first time in my life, my big mouth actually helped me. I acquired the footage that every journalist has been after for a long time. However, it would take me some time to convince my friend, who gave in in the end, that I would not go away. He said if I won in a backgammon game, I would get the recordings. A game of backgammon would decide whether I could have such important historical documents. Fortunately, I got lucky during the game.

I have to make this point first: There are a large number of books on the Yassıada trials that include logs from the courthouse. I have relied extensively on many of them, particularly the seven-volume “Yassıada Zabıtları” (Yassıada Records) by Emine Gürsoy Nasaki. However, what was important was the voice recordings featuring the judge, the prosecutor, the defendants and the witnesses because the text recordings did not offer enough evidence to demonstrate the rudeness, mocking tone and harshness the judge and the prosecutor displayed toward the defendants. When we first listened to the voice recordings, we were appalled by the attitude of the judge and the prosecutor. We were shocked by the expressions these men of law used and the attitude they displayed. This multi-part series on Yassıada offers a historic opportunity to better analyze those days as it makes it possible to listen to the defense statements of the suspects made in the knowledge that they would be executed no matter what and watch the recordings from the trial. It will help us develop a better understanding of the most shameful point in Turkish history. A majority of the video and voice recordings from the trial are available online at www.zaman.com.tr.

Many have told stories about the deplorable conditions of the Yassıada trial, the humiliation that Menderes and his friends had been subjected to. However, it was still a matter of great curiosity what they had actually been through. These images will take you to those years. The images, voice recordings and video recordings of Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes and his friends will bear witness to those years and show us the last day of Turkey’s martyrs of democracy. These images are enough to describe the injuries the coup has inflicted on the nation’s psyche.

Shocking documents shed light on May 27 takeover

On the morning of May 27, 1960 the area in front of İsmet İnönü's house was like a fairground. Hundreds of Republican People's Party (CHP) supporters gathered outside İnönü's house to celebrate the military takeover despite there being a curfew in place. The general who led the coup, Cemal Gürsel, called İnönü and told him, “We are waiting for your orders, sir.” İnönü's reply was surprising. “You have done a great job. It is I who is waiting for your orders,” he said.

The “great news” was broken on İstanbul Radio at 3 a.m. on May 27. Then Ankara Radio announced to Turkey that a coup d'état had taken place. Col. Aparslan Türkeş was the announcer. He read out the news in a thick voice: “Dear citizens, the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] has taken the country's administration into its hands.”

Around the same time, the military officers who staged the coup were having their first meeting in Ankara at the Administrative Command. They were hastily deciding new promotions. The heads of the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State were also there to consult on legal matters.

Hundreds of CHP members, supporters and military officers were celebrating in front of İnönü's house on Ayten Street in Ankara. Having heard the news that a crowd had gathered in front of the house, Türkeş also rushed to the scene along with a battalion of troops after reading out the announcement. He went inside and kissed İnönü's hand. He briefed the president on the coup d'état.

Celal Bayar pulls out his gun

The first politician to be arrested was President Celal Bayar, who resided at Çankaya palace. Bayar, who had been informed about the coup via telephone, had dressed and was waiting in the living room for his arrestors to come. Commander of the Presidency Guard Col. Osman Köksal, who was given the task of arresting Bayar, asked for help from the central command center when he found that Bayar already knew that the coup had occurred. Gen. Cemal Madanoğlu ordered a senior army officer to go to the palace. The senior officer asked Bayar to resign, which he refused to do, saying: “I was brought here by the people's will, and that's how I will go. Nobody can make me leave this place,” and pointed his gun at the officers waiting there to arrest him. Then, he turned the gun toward himself, but the soldiers intervened and he surrendered. He was dragged out of Çankaya palace and taken directly to the Military War Academy building.

Menderes arrested in Kütahya

Adnan Menderes learned the news when he was in Eskişehir on an official visit. He immediately headed off to Kütahya with his entourage. The military delegation seeking to arrest him also tailed the ousted prime minister on the highway, while jets flying above monitored Menderes' route. Menderes went to the governor's office with the intention of resisting arrest. However, he surrendered at about 8 a.m. when he realized that the building had been surrounded. Like the others, he was placed in the detention center at the War Academy. All of those under arrest were transferred to Yassıada Island after a few days.

Infighting among coup stagers

Madanoğlu's plan after the coup d'état was to immediately set up a new Parliament, made up of anti-Democrat Party (DP) members of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Council of State and the Military Court of Appeals as well as academics, and draft a new constitution. The professors who would be assigned the task had been decided before May 27. Sıddık Sami Onar, Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Tarık Zafer Tunaya, İsmet Giritli, Muammer Raşit Sevig, Naci Şensoy, Hüseyin Nail Kubalı and Ragıp Sarıca were hastily summoned to Ankara. The academics were met by Madanoğlu at General Staff headquarters, to where the command center of the coup had already been moved. The professors praised the intervention in the Military Convention Hall. Velidedeoğlu asked Madanoğlu one question: “Are we moving toward a Nasser-like regime?” The military officers answered no. The meeting was ended with a statement that legitimized the coup d'état from a legal point of view. Hüseyin Nail Kubalı visited İsmet İnönü in his house after the meeting. İnönü said the coup had benefitted the country.

The next step was to establish a new Cabinet. This was formed on the first day of the coup d'état in a meeting chaired by Gürsel, who was brought to the helm of the National Unity Committee (MBK). Madanoğlu wanted to see some civilians in the Cabinet, but a majority was against this. Faced by opposition to his idea, Madanoğlu struck the table with his clenched fist, asking, “How quickly you forget about the oath you took.” MBK President Gürsel was given the post of prime minister and minister of defense. They agreed to appoint civilians to a few ministries. Gürsel individually called those who were elected and informed them of their new post.

Fahri Korutürk was announced on the radio twice as the newly appointed foreign minister, a post Korutürk politely rejected both times despite Gürsel's persistence. The junta decided to act as though nothing had happened. The third time the Cabinet list was read out on the radio, Korutürk's name was replaced by Salim Sarper's. No questions were asked because nobody had the courage to do so.

Law changed to execute Menderes

The powers and duties of Parliament were transferred to the members of the 38-seat National Unity Committee (MBK) after the coup d'état. The MBK hastily changed nearly half of the 105-article constitution in force at the time. It removed the provision that individuals over 65 cannot be executed. The temporary constitution was in fact drafted on June 12, but it was treated retroactively as having gone into force starting May 27, 1960. A few months after the Yassıada trial began, preparations had begun on İmralı Island where the executions were going to take place. The gallows had been prepared months before the final verdict.

National Chief at MBK oath-taking ceremony

A swearing-in ceremony for members of the National Unity Committee (MBK), a body established after the 1960 coup d'état that assumed the powers of Parliament, are among the video files that were recently unearthed. Then-President İnönü, who liked to be called the National Chief, can be seen in the audience. He was the first person to congratulate the generals. Hundreds of Republican People's Party (CHP) supporters gather outside İnönü's house to celebrate the military takeover despite a curfew being in place. Cemal Gürsel calls İnönü and tells him, “We are waiting for your orders, sir.” İnönü responds: “You have done a great job. It is I who is waiting for your orders.” Around this time, the junta generals hold their fist meeting in Ankara. Heads of the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State also attend that meeting.

Judge: Cut to the chase! Menderes: Which chase, sir?

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader İsmet İnönü traveled to Kayseri on April 2, 1960 by train to attend a CHP provincial congress. More than 15,000 people were waiting in Kayseri to greet İnönü. The Kayseri Governor's Office realized that the security measures in place might not be adequate and asked İnönü to wait until security was tightened. İnönü refused and continued on. This incident was included in the Yassıada indictment as an attempt by the government to restrict the freedom of travel of İnönü and thus violate the Constitution. The prosecution subsequently demanded the death penalty for Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes, the Kayseri deputies of the Democratic Party (DP) and Kayseri Governor Ahmet Kınık.

In his defense, Menderes said that he was ill and in İstanbul during İnönü's Kayseri visit. He said the governor's office had taken the necessary measures to prevent any incident but noted that he did not have all the details. In the trial, the following conversation took place between the judge and Menderes.

Judge Salim Başol: Your explanations contradict each other [scolding]; you tell it a different way every time!

Menderes: Sir... [interrupted by the judge]

Judge Başol: What is the issue here? Whose order was it that kept İnönü outside Kayseri? Whose order was it that stopped the train at Himmetdede? This is the issue. The governor was acting on your behalf.

Menderes: Sir, this is now how it is done. Himmetdede is a station that they had to be… [interrupted again]

Judge Başol: Please allow me. You are saying that you do not know that Himmetdede is a station. You are trying to say that you have nothing to do with it. What difference does it make if you know that is a station or not!

Menderes: The interior minister told me that they needed some time to take measures in accordance with the demonstrations' law. And I said, ‘Do it.' I did not know that the train was stopped at Himmetdede. I didn't give an order for that… [interrupted again]

Judge Başol: There was an order. How could they take measures without stopping the train?

Menderes: There wasn't any order, in any way, to keep it from entering Kayseri. I didn't even know that he was taking the train. I was shocked when I heard that it was stopped.

Judge Başol: Are you denying today's testimony from Ahmet Kınık?

Menderes: Ahmet Kınık is being biased. Who did he take the order from, the Interior Minister Medeni Berk?

Judge Başol: He says the prime minister gave him the order.

Menderes: I gave no such order. I do not accept this.

Judge Başol: [Speaking in a louder voice] You are not getting anything else…

Menderes: Sir, what do you mean I am not getting anything else?

Judge Başol: What about Ahmet Kınık's testimony?

Menderes: Ahmet Kınık is getting things slightly mixed up, and rightly so, he made many phone calls within 24 hours … [inaudible] he might get confused.

Judge Başol: Who can stop the train without your orders?

Judge praises students marching for military intervention

Sixty defendants, including Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes, Kemal Aygün and Ethem Yetkiner, were on trial over the Topkapı incidents, in which Democrat Party (DP) members were accused of plotting to assassinate İsmet İnönü. The trial began on Dec. 2, 1960. The prosecution claimed that a group that attacked İnönü in İstanbul’s Topkapı district in 1959 had been hired by the government.

In the hearings Judge Salim Başol asked the defendants why the government had stopped university students who were marching for freedom. He is heard in the new voice recordings saying, “They are fighting for a cause.” Their cause, in fact, was the preliminary work for the coup d’état.

Former Land Forces Commander Cemal Gürsel, who was brought in to head the National Unity Committee (MBK) after the coup d’état, had given a letter to Defense Minister Ethem Menderes, who had mentioned this letter to Prime Minister Menderes without going into much detail. In this letter, which was published in the Official Gazette a few weeks after the May 27 coup d’état, Gürsel warns Menderes of recent developments in the country, demanding that Celal Bayar resign from the presidency. The phrase where Gürsel said “Adnan Menderes should be the president” in the original was censored in the Official Gazette copy.

‘You should have seen the letter’

Neither the prosecutor nor the judge wanted to question the defendants about this letter in the Yassıada trial; yet, there still was a brief mention of it. Judge Başol read the letter in court, but skipped the parts praising Menderes, who heard the full contents of the letter for the first time in the trial. Menderes was surprised by the letter. In the recordings, Başol asked Menderes what he thought about the letter. Menderes responded that he had never seen the letter before and was unaware of its contents. Although it was clear that Menderes had not been shown the letter, Başol couldn’t help insulting him, saying: “Why didn’t you pay attention to the letter? It now turns out that it was of vital importance.”

Judge gets angry with Bayar

In one of the voice recordings of the trial, the defendants are questioned about the Topkapı incidents -- events that broke when a group stopped İsmet İnönü's car on May 4, 1959 in an attempt to kill him. Judge Salim Başol allows Celal Bayar to speak regarding the incidents following the testimony of DP member Kemal Aygün. In response to a question from the judge as to whether Aygün had contacted Bayar regarding the Topkapı incidents, Bayar said he had no recollection. The judge gets angry, made obvious when he said, “Please take your hands out of your pockets!”

Bayar: I protected İnönü Judge: He doesn’t need your protection

In the voice recordings from the Yassıada trial, some of the fiercest discussions between the judge and DP members are almost always about İsmet İnönü, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) at the time. In one such recording, former President Celal Bayar says: “I never held anything against İnönü. I even protected him.” This statement angers the judge, who replies with a sentence in İnönü’s defense: “When and how did you protect him? İnönü has never been in need of your protection. He has always defended himself courageously even when his party was in opposition, but he has never uttered an inappropriate word. Saying you protected him is too much.” Judge Salim Başol’s words are followed by loud applause in the courtroom. Bayar has to stop halfway through his defense statement.

‘Haven’t spoken to anyone in months’

The defense statements of the suspects at the Yassıada trial were knowingly and purposefully written down in court records in broken sentences, the new voice records show. In the voice recordings, Menderes uses fluent language and eloquent sentences. In once such recording from the beginning of the trial, Menderes says he hadn’t spoken to anyone for four or five months while he was in prison. He says in the voice recording: “I live in a single cell under circumstances that allow no opportunity to talk to anybody at any hour of the day under the watchful eye of a guard on duty that changes every hour on the hour. This is unbearable.” 

Judge rebuffs Menderes’ attempt to submit defense statement

 

Members of the Democrat Party (DP) first faced trial after the 1960 coup d'état on charges of “violating the Constitution.” There were 400 suspects including President Celal Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, Parliament Speaker Refik Koraltan, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan. Menderes was accused of having established a dictatorship. These were merged with other charges including the Topkapı incidents, the Ankara incidents, the Kayseri incidents, the Sept. 6-7 pogrom against non-Muslims, the discretionary fund trial and the Gedikli incidents. However, the main accusation was the allegation that Menderes had plans to assassinate İsmet İnönü, although this was not a formal accusation stated in the indictment. However, the prosecution and the judge kept returning to this allegation.

The DP government was considering an early election ahead of the coup. However, even then the likelihood that the Republican People's Party (CHP) would be elected seemed bleak. Aware of this, İnönü was angry and had even called for a military intervention in Parliament. After a highly tense session one day, İnönü said, “Even I cannot save you if you keep heading this way!” It was during these days Menderes frequently said, “May God protect every government from rivals such as İnönü and his party.”

During the time leading up to the coup, there were protests against the government in Ankara and İstanbul. The demonstrators were mostly university students, and they were chanting slogans such as “We want the prime minister's head!” as if they were janissaries. Students of the Harbiye War Academy marched in Ankara. Bayar, who was the commander in chief as the president, stopped the war academy students from marching to the Çankaya presidential palace, for which he would later be accused of terrorism.

Finally the coup took place, and the trial began. Menderes started with an introductory statement, trying to defend himself against the accusations. He retained his politeness and modesty, though he wasn't allowed to talk even in matters that he had nothing to do with. He often preferred to keep silent in the face of the judge reprimanding him. He started his defense statement addressing the prosecutor, saying, “Sir, let me explain the true version of this.” However, many such statements were rudely interrupted by the prosecutor.

Menderes said it was a political trial, stating that the acts of which they were accused had not even come into their minds. He also said the pre-1950 CHP as a single party had violated the Constitution many times but that it was never the target of such a trial. Menderes delivered a long statement, responding to every allegation as much as he could. Judge Salim Başol frequently and rudely interrupted him. Menderes trusted the judges' consciences, but no justice came out of the trial when the verdict was announced on Sept. 15, 1961.

They first wanted to erase Adnan Menderes from people’s hearts

The defendants in the case known as the Baby Trial in Turkish history were Adnan Menderes and former opera singer Ayhan Aydan. Menderes was accused of killing the newborn baby he had with Aydan. In fact, the main purpose of the trial was to humiliate Menderes in the eyes of the nation by keeping his extramarital affair under the spotlight. The indictment was written in its entirety with this in mind. The tone and style of newspapers and radio stations reporting on the topic also bore the same mentality. Even the radio presenter who was the host of the “Yassıada Hour” got emotional when reporting on the case, saying, “The leaders of ‘the deplorable ones’ that ‘stole’ the people’s votes by trickery and deceit were busy with such decadence spending the money of the nation.”

In this trial, the attitude of the judge and the prosecutor toward Menderes was very harsh. The prosecutor hurled formidable insults at the former prime minister, and the judge used mocking and humiliating expressions. The prosecutor, who was not happy about the course of the trial, at one point said to the panel of judges that he was going to bring new evidence to the case. He said a search of the Prime Ministry had revealed various strongboxes that had in them documents related to the government’s 10 years in power. However, the panel of judges opening the strongboxes hesitated with one, which read “Historical Documents” on it. The prosecutor said: “The panel thought perhaps there was an artifact or a letter that belonged to Atatürk, or perhaps some very important historical project. God knows what important state secrets were in there! They found an envelope inside the strongbox bearing the signature Adnan Menderes. What could be in the envelope? They thought perhaps a memory from Atatürk. The delegation opened the envelope with such excitement, only to get goose bumps.” The prosecutor claimed that the envelope contained an item of women’s underwear. He also showed the item to the panel of judges, displaying it for them to see. Everyone booed Menderes. This was one of the most important steps in humiliating Menderes, to overcome a psychological barrier on the way to the executions.

The defendants in the case known as the Baby Trial in Turkish history were Adnan Menderes and former opera singer Ayhan Aydan. Menderes was accused of killing the newborn baby he had with Aydan.

Ayhan Aydan: I loved Menderes

In line with the prosecutor's remarks, Judge Salim Başol started insulting Adnan Menderes. He forced Menderes to testify against Ayhan Aydan, saying, “Ayhan Aydan did not refrain from having an affair with the prime minister at the time and felt proud about it and spread the story of it.” Menderes said in response, “Your Honor, excuse me but I do not have enough information about this.” However, the presiding judge was not happy with the answer, speaking in a loud voice and interrupting Menderes' defense. Başol's second question was: “You assigned official vehicles for your mistress to wait in front of her house. How could that be?” Aydın's doctor, Fahri Atabey, was also a target of the judge, who soon discovered that Atabey did not intend to make any statements that could be used against Menderes.

All the hopes of the coup supporters were tied to Aydan. She was called to the stand to testify as a witness. Judge Başol, in a tone of mockery, charged: “The defendant is married, which you also knew. You have had a relationship with him despite being aware of this.” Aydan replied politely in a calm voice, saying: “I met Adnan Menderes in 1951. I loved him. I really liked my unborn child, too. All I wanted was to have his baby. I have failed to do this despite being very careful about my health. Unfortunately, I felt a pang when I was about eight months pregnant. I started bleeding. I couldn't reach Menderes, I talked to his aide. Then I called Dr. Atabey, but I also failed to reach him. I was about to give birth. I did give birth on my own, but the child died during birth of natural causes.”

Prosecutor accused Menderes of praying without ablution

In the Baby Trial the prosecutor continued to slander Adnan Menderes after waving the pair of women's underwear before the panel of judges. Menderes' lawyer Burhan Apaydın said, “You may or may not think he did a good job, but Mr. Menderes has served as the prime minister of this country for 10 years.” He read a couplet from an Ottoman poem saying that a piece of jewelry does not lose its value by falling on the floor. This angered the prosecutor, who accused Apaydın of acting as an accomplice to Menderes and even spending time with women with him.

Menderes was exhausted and confused during the trial. He found it hard to understand what was going on. He briefly said that he had nothing to do with the alleged baby killing, noting that he had found out about the baby's death from an investigative committee probing the incident. However the prosecutor continued his smear campaign. One allegation he made was that Menderes went to the Eyüpsultan Mosque without the proper ablution to be in attendance amongst the reverent crowds during the evening of Kadir, a holy day during the month of Ramadan. The prosecutor also claimed that Menderes read the Quran on Yassıada without making ablutions. 

Judge scolds Menderes: Don't reside in the palace, live in a shed!

Former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and Prime Ministry Undersecretary Ahmet Salih Korur were the defendants in a trial about the alleged misuse of a discretionary fund at the government's disposal despite the fact that there was no legally defined method of how to allocate the funds. A definition does not exist to this day. Legally, there is no obligation to explain or produce a document to account for the use of the discretionary fund. What's more, the law prevented judicial action against the prime minister regarding the use of these funds.

Menderes had asked his undersecretary, Korur, to keep a record of every expenditure, had ordered that his personal expenses be taken out from his own bank account and had saved the records in a case at the Prime Ministry, thinking they might be needed one day. According to witnesses, he even told his wife, Berrin Menderes, to show the utmost care to protect the documents, which he said were very important. “If there are any personal expenditures, we'll pay them back.” However, these records that were kept under his orders were used as evidence against him during the Yassıada trial.

One of the most interesting aspects of this trial was that famous writers and journalists of the era, such as Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Peyami Safa, Orhan Seyfi Orhon, Burhan Belge and Mithat Perin, testified as witnesses. Even Necip Fazıl's spouse, Neslihan Kısakürek, was a witness at the trial.

As in other trials, Supreme Justice Council President Judge Salim Başol and Chief Prosecutor Altay Ömer Egesel directed insulting allegations toward Menderes to humiliate him. Even a pair of tweezers found in the kitchen of the prime minister's residence was brought up as a subject in the trial. The pair of tweezers, which cost only a few kuruş, somehow was brought up in the same case as the documents related to the discretionary fund, and the issue got so big that this trial came to be publicly known as the tweezers case. 

Did Türkeş take the money?

During the first hearing of the discretionary fund trial, Judge Başol showed his intent. According to him, dinners organized in honor of foreign statesmen and ambassadors were money wasted and could not be paid for from the discretionary fund. At some point he even went so far as to say: “Does a prime minister have to live at the [prime ministerial] residence? Go live in a shed. Does anyone need tweezers to live at the residence?”

In his defense, Menderes stated that he never used the discretionary fund for his personal expenses, contrary to the previous Republican People's Party (CHP) prime ministers who used this fund mainly for similar activities for the Prime Ministry, asserting that similar courts should be set up for them if this is indeed a crime.

A large portion of the discretionary fund was given to the national security organization. Menderes defended himself claiming that the Americans were dominant over the police department, saying that some of the salaries were paid by foreign countries and that these funds were used to end that practice.

An interesting detail in the discretionary fund case was about Alparslan Türkeş, who would later establish the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). This incident has remained in the dark until today, but according to witnesses Türkeş visited Undersecretary Korur, who was jailed at the War Academy, shortly after the coup d'état and learned the code to the safe where the money was kept. According to Korur, there was $270,000 and TL 250,000 in the safe. However, when the delegation of judges broke into the safe on June 2, this money could not be found. Emine Gürsoy Naskali, the author of a book on the discretionary fund trial, recalls that shortly after the death of Türkeş in 1997 a large amount of money whose source remains unknown was discovered at a bank in London in an account that belonged to Türkeş, who assumed the post of the undersecretary of the prime minister from day one of the coup d'état. She notes that it might mean something that the source of this money is unaccounted for to this day.

Başol rebukes Menderes: Enough!

Voice recordings from the trial clearly indicate that Menderes was denied the right to properly defend himself without being interrupted.

Judge Salim Başol: According to the records read out loud, most of the spending was for your personal expenditures. Can we say that?

Adnan Menderes: Your Honor, let me read the expenditure items from this list. (He starts answering each allegation, but is interrupted.)

Judge Başol: Keep it short.

Menderes: I will keep it short. Article 77 of the relevant law says that intelligence that falls under the scope of discretionary…

Jude Başol: You are really pushing it. Can any of the expenditures that we have read here today be made?

Menderes: There is a pair of tweezers that they probably found using a pair of tweezers themselves among TL 70,000 of expenditures.

Judge Başol: I am talking about the list we read here.

Menderes: Let me explain…

Judge Başol: I will not let you speak if you make this long.

Menderes: I'll keep it short.

Judge Başol: No, enough!

Famous poet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was among the defendants in the the case against the government regarding the use of the discretionary funds at its disposal.

Başol to Menderes: You think Kısakürek is a patriot?

Famous poet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was also tried as a defendant in the case against the government regarding the use of the discretionary funds at its disposal. According to the allegations, the government paid TL 147,000 over 10 years to Kısakürek to support his Büyük Doğu (Great East) journal. Judge Salim Başol asked the defendants why they would pay such an amount of money to a reactionary Atatürk-enemy like Kısakürek. Adnan Menderes, in reply, said Kısakürek was a patriot, noting that other writers that held different views and ideologies were also recipients of the funds. Judge Başol angrily shouted at Menderes, saying, “You are calling Kısakürek a patriot?” After this, Kısakürek came to the stand. The following conversation between him and the judge can be found in the voice recordings:

Judge Selim Başol: You have received money from the discretionary fund.

Necip Fazıl Kısakürek: Yes I have. And it is more important why I have taken this money than what I have taken. I did not receive money from the discretionary fund as an ode-composer, lauder or a fake mourner at old Roman funerals, and I haven't done any of these. I received the money for the protection of a religious, nationalist, pro-Anatolian and moralist ideal that was beaten against one stone after another between 1943 and 1960.

Judge Başol: You can't read your own notes here word by word.

Kısakürek: There has not been a single opinion newspaper that has not been funded by the government one way or another since the first newspaper, Takvimi Vakai.

Judge Başol: The university youth think you are a reactionary.

Kısakürek: Those who say I am a reactionary are the ones who can make their voices heard. There are tens of thousands of other young people who are committed to my ideals, but they can't speak in louder voices.

Judge Başol: Most of the newspapers that publish for the good of the country believe you are a danger to this country. 

Yassıada commander sits at special stand

Unarguably the most memorable images from the Yassıada trial were the pictures of the executions. However, one other photo also grabs one's attention as it clearly shows how the court was biased against the defendants. In this picture, it can be clearly seen that Yassıada Commander Col. Tarık Güryay is seated at a stand in the middle of the courtroom reserved specially for him as President Celal Bayar and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes are being tried. Güryay attended all the sessions, and even intervened at times when he thought it necessary. The pictures also show two military guards standing behind Güryay. There are dozens of military officers and soldiers on duty inside the courtroom. Two members of the National Unity Committee (MBK) are among the audience. These individuals also regularly attended every session. Güryay, according many witnesses who were imprisoned on Yassıada, is remembered for his cruel acts towards his prison's inmates outside the courtroom.

‘We haven’t published any article praising the government’

Writer Peyami Safa, whose Turkish Thought Journal was allocated money from a discretionary fund at the government's disposal, testified in one of the Yassıada trials. The Turkish Thought Journal received 49,000 lira of funding from the discretionary fund during the Democrat Party's (DP) term in power. Judge Salim Başol asked Safa, “Why is this money being given to you and not other newspapers?” Safa responded: “I am not the one to answer this question. It is a journal that this country's intelligentsia needs. It is being published for the good of the country.”

Judge Salim Başol: There are claims that they paid such a large amount of money so that you would praise the government?

Peyami Safa: Your honor, I worked at this journal for seven years. You cannot find a single article that praises or defends the government in any issue.

Judge Başol: Do you support the government in your articles?

Safa: To the contrary. I have always made the harshest criticism of the government.

Başol: It is right, if university students say so

In the session about the allegations regarding the use of the discretionary fund by the government, the following conversation took place between Judge Başol and Minister Tevfik İleri about conservative poet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek.

Judge Başol: Tevfik İleri, regarding your views on whether Necip Fazıl publications are good for the country or not … University youths are protesting his works. What they say is right is right, what they condemn is wrong.

Tevfik İleri: Your Honor, this is a very profound issue.

Judge Başol: It is, but it can be expressed in simple terms.

İleri: The progressiveness-conservatism duality will continue to be a major discussion as it is today. … The Necip Fazıl that I read did not have such works … I liked him more because he led a life of poverty.

Judge Başol: For example, he criticized the reading of the call to prayer in Turkish.

İleri: Yes, I think that is wrong, Your Honor.