Deniz Gezmiş
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Deniz Gezmiş (February 27, 1947 Ayaş - May 6, 1972 Ankara) was one of the most important militants, founders and leaders of revolutionary movement that developed in Turkey after 1965's. He was a Marxist-Leninist and a founder of outlawed Türkiye Halk Kurtuluş Ordusu (People's Liberation Army of Turkey).
He had his primary and elementary education in different cities of Turkey as a son of teacher family but spent most of his childhood in Erzurum where his father was from. Gezmiş graduated from high school in Istanbul, where he met left wing ideas. After becoming a member of Türkiye İşçi Partisi (Worker's Party of Turkey), he attended the Law Faculty at İstanbul University in 1966. Later, he founded Devrimci Hukukçular Örgütü (Revolutionary Jurists Organisation) in 1968.
With his efficiency going up in student actions, he led the occupation of İstanbul University on June 12, 1968. After the occupation of the university, he took place in protests against the arrival of US 6th Fleet at Istanbul. Deniz Gezmiş was arrested because of these actions on July 30, 1968, but was released on October 20 that year.
Intensifying in Worker's Party of Turkey, adopting National Democratic Revolution idea, he made these ideas of him to spread in revolutionary students. On November 28, 1968, he was arrested again after protesting US ambassador Robert Kommer's visit to Turkey, and was released. On March 16, 1969, taking place in conflicts between left and right wing students, he was arrested again and imprisoned until April 3. After the protests of leading Istanbul University Law Faculty students' for reform conceivement on May 31, 1969, the university was closed. Although Gezmiş was under police control, he escaped from the hospital, and went to Lebanon to a Fatah camp to receive guerilla training.
On January 11, 1971, he took place in İş Bankası robbery in Ankara. On March 4 that year, he kidnapped four US privates in Balgat, Ankara. After releasing the hostages, he was arrested in Şarkışla, Sivas with Yusuf Aslan following a gunfight.
Their trial began on July 16, 1971, and he was sentenced to death for violating Turkish Criminal Code's 146th article, "to attempt to overthrow the Constitutional order".
According to legal procedure, the death sentence should be endorsed by parliament before being sent to president of the republic for the final assent. In March and April 1972; the sentence sent to parliament and in both readings the sentence has been overwhelmingly approved by attended MPs. During the votings politicians like İsmet İnönü and Bülent Ecevit opposed the sentence but Süleyman Demirel lobbied and voted in favor of it.
On May 4, President Cevdet Sunay refused to grant pardon, after officially consulting the Minister of Justice and Prime Minister Nihat Erim.
The death sentence carried out by hanging on May 6, 1972, along with the death sentences of Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan, in the central prison in Ankara.
His last words:"Long live People of Turkey's independence, long live great ideology of Marksism-Leninism, long live the Turkish and Kurdish People's independence struggle, damn imperialism"
His last wish was to drink tea and listen a Rodrigo's guitar concerto.
In 1980, then-Prime Minister Nihat Erim was assasinated as revenge for the execution by Gezmiş's sympathisans.
In 1987, after 15 years, Suleyman Demirel, who actively supported the executions, told a journalist who was interviewing him that the executions were a mishap which occured during the circumstances of the cold war.
