[4] Its roots can be seen in a movement that called itself Devrimci Gençlik ("Revolutionary Youth", short DEV-GENÇ), and it followed the thesis of Mahir Çayan.

[3] The defence in the central trial against members of Devrimci Yol at Ankara Military Court included the following lines:[5] The brochure published in Hamburg in November 1980 carried the emblem of the organization (fist on top of a star) and therefore the views expressed there reflect the attitude of the organization: In a report on the central trial against Devrimci Yol in Ankara Amnesty International wrote in June 1988:[1] In April 1997, the Swiss Refugee Support Organization (in German Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe, SFH) published a report simply called "Türkei – Turquie".

On Devrimci Yol, it stated inter alia: "The journal and supporters of Dev-Yol were not opposed to violence but tried to put into practice a defence policy centred around the idea of 'committees of resistance', which were to counter attacks against the population by right-wing militants known as the Grey Wolves.

"[1] The first resistance committees (direniş komiteleri) were formed because Devrimci Yol believed that there was a civil war in Turkey.

[6] The resistance committees (organized in factories or quarters) were put to the test during the incidents in Çorum in July 1980.

The list of mass trials against alleged members of Devrimci Yol and the number of death penalties passed in these trials is based on press reports collected by the alternative türkeihilfe[12] Between 1980 and 1984 a total of 50 people including 27 political prisoners were executed in Turkey.

Members of Devrimci Yol executed for violent activities were:[15] After the military coup of September 1980 the number of deaths in custody increased decisively.