Deniz Gezmiş

Deniz Gezmiş lived in Turkey.

He was a student leader. He wanted to change how things worked. He led many student groups at a school. He also helped start a group of soldiers.

Later, the government took him to court. They decided he must be put to death. This was a very sad time for many. Many people still talk about him today. He is a symbol for many people in Turkey.

Deniz Gezmiş was a student leader in Turkey.

He was born in 1947. He studied law at Istanbul University. He wanted to change how the country worked. He helped start many student groups. He also helped start a group called the THKO. This group was a small army of people.

In the late 1960s, Deniz was very active. He led protests at his school. He was even arrested several times. In 1969, he went to Jordan for training. In 1971, he and his group took four US soldiers. They wanted to use them to ask for things. Later, Deniz and his friends were caught by police.

They went to a trial in Ankara. The court said they tried to change the government. The court sentenced them to death. Some leaders in Turkey disagreed with this. Many people tried to stop it. They signed names on lists to help. But the government did not stop.

On May 6, 1972, Deniz was executed. His last wish was to listen to music. Today, many people see him as a symbol. His family even started a foundation to remember him.

Deniz Gezmiş was a famous student leader and political activist in Turkey.

He was born on February 27, 1947. His father was Cemil Gezmiş, who worked as an education inspector. His mother, Mukaddes Gezmiş, was a primary school teacher. Deniz grew up in many different Turkish cities. He spent much of his childhood in Sivas. Later, he went to high school in Istanbul. This was where he first learned about new political ideas. Some people even compare him to other famous revolutionaries.

Deniz became very active in politics during his college years. He studied law at Istanbul University starting in 1966. He helped start the Revolutionary Student Union in 1968. He also helped create the Revolutionary Jurists Organisation. In the summer of 1968, he was part of a group that occupied Istanbul University. He led many protests against the US 6th Fleet in Istanbul. These protests led to his first arrest in July 1968. He was released later that year in October. He wanted to lead a National Democratic Revolution.

His life involved many difficult and dangerous moments. In 1969, he went to Jordan to receive guerrilla training. He also led a group that disrupted a lecture by an American scholar. In December 1970, he and his friends were involved in a conflict with police in Ankara. In early 1971, his group, the THKO, took four US soldiers as hostages. They wanted to demand a ransom for the soldiers. After the hostages were released, Deniz and Yusuf Aslan were caught by police in Gemerek, Sivas. They were taken to Ankara to face a trial.

The trial for Deniz and his friends began on July 16, 1971. The court accused them of robbery and taking the US soldiers. On October 9, the court sentenced Deniz, Yusuf Aslan, and Hüseyin İnan to death. This was because they were accused of trying to overthrow the government. Many leaders in Turkey had different opinions about this. Some politicians like İsmet İnönü and Bülent Ecevit were against the sentence. Others, like Süleyman Demirel, voted for it. Even though the Constitutional Court tried to stop it, the Parliament approved the decision again.

Many people tried to save Deniz from his sentence. Some intellectuals started a campaign with many signatures. Others tried to stop the decision by kidnapping technicians, but that ended in a fight where many people died. On May 3, 1972, President Cevdet Sunay signed the final order. Deniz was executed on May 6, 1972, at the Ankara Central Prison. His last wish was to listen to a guitar concerto.

Today, he is remembered as a symbol for many people. His family started a foundation in 2015 to keep his memory alive.

Deniz Gezmiş was a prominent Turkish Marxist-Leninist revolutionary and student leader. He was a key figure in Turkish politics during the late 1960s. Gezmiş helped found the People's Liberation Army of Turkey, also known as the THKO. He was born on February 27, 1947, to Cemil Gezmiş and Mukaddes Gezmiş. His father was a syndicalist and an inspector of primary education. His mother was a primary school teacher.

He spent much of his childhood in Sivas. He later moved to Istanbul for high school. It was in Istanbul that he first encountered left-wing political ideas.

His political journey grew through specific organizations and academic study. After joining the Workers Party of Turkey, he began studying law at Istanbul University in 1966. In the summer of 1968, he helped found the Revolutionary Student Union. He also established the Revolutionary Jurists Organisation in January 1966. Gezmiş was a central figure in the student-led occupation of Istanbul University in June 1968. Following that event, he led protests against the arrival of the US 6th Fleet in Istanbul. These protests occurred on July 17, 1968, and resulted in his arrest on July 30. He was released from prison on October 20 of that year.

As he grew more active, Gezmiş advocated for a National Democratic Revolution. This goal helped inspire a larger base of revolutionary students. His activities became more intense and led to further legal trouble. In 1969, he was arrested for participating in armed conflicts between right-wing and left-wing groups. He was also arrested after leading law students in a protest against a reformation bill in May 1969. During this conflict, Gezmiş was injured and had to go to a hospital. He eventually escaped the hospital to seek guerrilla training in Palestine Liberation Organization camps in Jordan.

In the early 1970s, Gezmiş and his comrades engaged in more direct actions. In December 1970, they fired upon two police officers guarding the US embassy in Ankara. In early 1971, the THKO kidnapped four US privates from the US Logistics Group in Balgat, Ankara. The group sent notes to a news agency to demand a ransom. They also demanded the release of a captured THKO driver. After the hostages were released, Gezmiş and Yusuf Aslan were captured in Gemerek, Sivas. This capture followed an armed stand-off with law enforcement officers.

His legal battle was a major event in Turkish history. The trial began on July 16, 1971, in Ankara. The defendants faced charges for robbery and the abduction of US soldiers. On October 9, Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan, and Hüseyin İnan were sentenced to death. They were charged under Article 146 of the Turkish Criminal Code. This article concerns attempts to overthrow the constitutional order. The sentence required approval from the Turkish Parliament before the President could sign it. In March and April 1972, the Parliament approved the sentence during two separate readings. While some politicians like İsmet İnönü opposed it, others like Süleyman Demirel voted in favor.

There were many attempts to stop the execution of the three men. The Republican People's Party appealed to the Constitutional Court to cancel the decision. The Court overturned the Parliament's decision, but the Parliament met again to reaffirm the death sentence. Some militants attempted a kidnapping of three technicians to stop the verdict. This event led to a firefight in Kizildere on March 30, 1972. Most of the group involved, including the hostages, were killed in the conflict. Other intellectuals, such as Yaşar Kemal, started signature campaigns to save Gezmiş.

On May 3, 1972, President Cevdet Sunay signed the execution order. Deniz Gezmiş was executed by hanging on May 6, 1972, at Ankara Central Prison. He was executed alongside Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan. His final request was to listen to the guitar concerto "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquín Rodrigo.

The three men asked to be buried together, but this request was not granted. Gezmiş is buried in the Karaskaya Cemetery in Ankara.

His death had a lasting impact on Turkish society. The executions were seen as a major blow to the morale of the Turkish Left. However, the three men became long-term symbols for the movement. The political tension between the Left and Right continued through the 1970s. This conflict eventually contributed to the military coup in 1980. In 1987, Süleyman Demirel later described the executions as a mishap of the Cold War. In 2015, the Gezmiş family founded a foundation to preserve his memory and values.