Gen. Tahsin Sahinkaya, the last surviving member of a junta that led Turkey’s 1980 military coup, died on Thursday in Istanbul. He was 90.
His death, at a military hospital, was announced by the state-run Anadolu Agency. No cause was specified.
General Sahinkaya, a former air force commander, was one of five members of the military clique that grabbed power on Sept. 12, 1980. The coup ended years of violence and street clashes but also set off a wave of arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings after Gen. Kenan Evren, the leader of the coup, declared himself head of state and imposed martial law.
Last year General Sahinkaya and General Evren were convicted of crimes against the state and sentenced to life in prison. General Sahinkaya was set free for medical reasons and was appealing his conviction.
General Evren, who was president until 1989, died in May.
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Tahsin Şahinkaya (1925 – 9 July 2015) was a Turkish Air Force general.[1] He was Commander of the Turkish Air Force from 1978 to 1983, and previously Secretary-General of the National Security Council (1977-1978). He was one of the five leaders of the 1980 military coup, and after the coup he was a member of the Presidential Council.
In 2012, a court case was launched against Şahinkaya and Kenan Evren relating to the 1980 military coup.[2] Both were sentenced to life imprisonment on 18 June 2014 by a court in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.[3]
Death[edit]
Şahinkaya died at age 90 in the military "Haydarpaşa GATA Hospital" in Istanbul on July 9, 2015.[4] He was interred at Karacaahmet Cemetery on July 11 following a memorial ceremony held at theTurkish First Army headquarters in the Selimiye Barracks and subsequent religious funeral service at the nearby Büyük Selimiye Mosque in Üsküdar. He was survived by his wife Sema, son Serdar, daughter Sevgi Kartal and son-in-law Mustafa Kartal.[5]
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Tahsin Şahinkaya (b. 1925 – d. July 9, 2015) was a Turkish Air Force general. He was Commander of the Turkish Air Force from 1978 to 1983, and previously Secretary-General of the National Security Council (1977-1978). He was one of the five leaders of the 1980 military coup, and after the coup he was a member of the Presidential Council.
In 2012, a court case was launched against Şahinkaya and Kenan Evren (President of Turkey from 1980 to 1989) relating to the 1980 military coup. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment on June 18, 2014 by a court in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
Şahinkaya died at age 90 in the military "Haydarpaşa GATA Hospital" in Istanbul on July 9, 2015. He was interred at Karacaahmet Cemetery on July 11 following a memorial ceremony held at the Turkish First Army headquarters in the Selimiye Barracks and subsequent religious funeral service at the nearby Buyuk Selimiye Mosque in Uskudar. He was survived by his wife Sema, son Serdar, daughter Sevgi Kartal and son-in-law Mustafa Kartal.
