Parliament nullifies legal grounds for 1960 coup trial

Yassıada (Photo: AA)

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The parliament has ratified a bill that declares the legal grounds for the 1960 trial and execution of the then prime minister and two ministers members null and void.

All parties represented in parliament voiced support for the bill in yesterday's (June 23) vote.

Following a coup, in 1960, a military court tried Adnan Menderes, the nation's first democratically elected prime minister, along with two leading members of the Democratic Party (DP), resulting in their executions the following year.

Moving to cancel the legal rationalization for the trial, a bill submitted by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said the coup-era court had overstepped its power and violated fundamental rights and freedoms.

Under the bill, the criminal and archive records of the coup trial victims will be expunged by the Justice Ministry.

The bill also paves the way for compensation for damages suffered by the coup trial victims.

The trial took place on Yassıada, one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara to the southeast of İstanbul. It was renamed Democracy and Liberties Island in 2013.

Last month, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated Democracy and Liberties Island to mark the 60th anniversary of the military coup on May 27, 1960. (TP/VK)