The Independence Tribunal of Diyarbakır is a court established in March 1925 in order to quell the Sheikh Said rebellion.
The court was inspired by the Independence Tribunals, which had been established during the Turkish War of Independence, provided with extensive powers to subdue the enemies of the Government of Mustafa Kemal,[1] and established following the issuing of the Law on the Maintenance of Order [tr] by the government of Prime Minister İsmet İnönü on the 4 March 1925.
At first, the courts members were Mazhar Müfit (Kansu) as its president, Ali Saip (Ursavaş) and Lütfi Müfit (Özdeş) as members of the tribunal, then prosecutor Süreyya Örgeevren [tr] and Avni Doğan [tr] as the courts assistant.
[2] The tribunal first took aim at the Kurdish elite residing in Istanbul, notably former members of the Society for the Rise of Kurdistan (SAK), and sentenced them to death.
In total, the Independence Tribunal in Diyarbakır prosecuted more than 5000, found over 2700 as not guilty and sentenced 420 to death.