Who were Nazım Hikmet's lawyers?

Nazım Hikmet  WAS HE A REVOLUTIONARY? 

After returning to Turkey from Russia for the second time in 1928, Nazım Hikmet was tried   many times. He was convicted in some cases. In others, he was  accused of  organizing  to overthrow the government  through a revolution. However,  that Nazım, as alleged,  was not a profile capable of attempting to overthrow the government. 

Nazım was more of an artist than a political activist. He was a poet.  In the 30s, he was a well-known figure in the fields of literature and art. In his poems, he mostly addressed class contradictions, enlightenment revolutions, and historical   events  in an enthusiastic  manner. For example, The Epic of Sheikh Bedreddin and the Kuvayı Milliye Epic are emotionally charged  works.  It leaves  deep impressions  on its readers. My favorite  poem is Sebastian Bach's Concerto in C Major.  Nazım,  throughout  every period of his life, lived under more or less constant police surveillance  due to his communism.  He  also learned to adapt  to the circumstances. 

NAZIM'S  POEMS AFTER 1928   POEMS 

From 1928 until Nazım Hikmet's major  conviction   the list of his published poetry books  is as follows: At the forefront of these is "Güneşi İçenlerin Türküsü" (The Song of Those Who Drink the Sun), published in Baku.  The others, in chronological order, are 835 Satır (835 Lines) (1929),  Varan 3 (Item 3) (1930), and together with Nail Vahdeti Çakırhan,   the works they wrote  1+1=1 and Sesini Kaybeden Şehir (The City That Lost Its Voice) (1931), Gece Gelen Telgraf (The Telegram That Arrived at Night) (1932), Taranta Babu’ya Mektuplar (Letters to Taranta Babu) (1935), and Simavne Kadısı Oğlu Şeyh Bedrettin Destanı (The Epic of Sheikh Bedrettin, Son of the Simavne Judge) (1936).  Nazım,  became known in literature and art circles with these poems.  had managed to become a name. After returning   from Russia, he had started  working at Zekeriya Sertel's  Resimli Ay magazine  and  on the other hand,  by publishing poems,  he had become famous. 

Nazım Hikmet'S  TRIALS  CASES 

Many cases  were filed against  Nazım Hikmet, and some   resulted in  convictions.  In the 1925 TKP (Communist Party of Turkey) trial, a verdict was reached in absentia  at the Ankara Independence Tribunal: 15 years in prison. When the conviction was handed down, Nazım was in Izmir,   hiding  as a fugitive. He secretly came to Istanbul and left the country by boarding a motorboat  arranged by the TKP that was waiting off the coast of Moda.  He went to Russia. Perhaps  at the Port of Istanbul  waiting  he had been put on a Russian merchant  ship.  After spending 3 years  in Russia, Nazım wanted to return. He repeatedly requested a passport  from our Moscow  Embassy.  He did not receive a positive  response. Together with İsmail Bilen, they entered the country via Hopa.  İsmail Bilen is the person  also known as Laz İsmail or Marat İsmail, who would later serve as the general  secretary of the TKP.   They   were arrested in Hopa following a tip-off.  They were transferred to Rize. The Rize Criminal Court  issued a decision to transfer them to Istanbul. The two   detainees  they were taken to Sultanahmet Prison while chained, crossing the Galata Bridge. After a while,  only  for violating  the Passport Law  they were sentenced and  released.  In 1931,  a lawsuit was filed on charges of class domination. Nazım Hikmet, İrfan Emin Kösemihaloğlu  was defended by.   In this case, Nazım declared to the   court that he was a communist.  The basis of the defense was freedom of thought  .  He was acquitted  in this case. At that time,  abstract  being a communist was not  a crime. 

In 1933, Süreyya Pasha filed a defamation lawsuit against Nazım.  Nazım had written a poem  titled "An Experiment in the Valley of Satire"   in the poem.  In the poem,   Süreyya Pasha  was being severely  criticized. The reason was that he held Süreyya Pasha responsible  for the death of his father, Hikmet Bey, who was serving as the manager  of the Süreyya Cinema. In this case, Nazım was sentenced  to one year in prison  by the decision of the Istanbul First Criminal Court of First Instance. 

Between 1933 and 1934, he was tried at the Bursa Assize Court  for communist propaganda.  In 1936, he was tried at the Istanbul Assize Court on charges of  forming a secret organization. He was acquitted in 1937.  The two cases opened in 1938  are known to everyone: the Military Academy and Navy trials, in which  Nazım Hikmet and all the leftist writers of the period were  tried. In both  cases, the  prosecutors' primary basis was the Military Penal Code  became Article 94.  The alleged crime was "inciting military rebellion." Nazım Hikmet's  total sentence  from these two  cases was: 28 years and 4 months. In these trials, Dr. Hikmet Kıvılcımlı, military cadet A.Kadir, and Kemal Tahir  received 15-year prison sentences.  Sources state that the number of cases  filed against Nazım Hikmet was 11  states that it is. 

THE SHIFT IN ATTITUDE  TOWARD COMMUNISTS  AT THE END OF THE THIRTIES

The implementation of harsher measures against the left in Turkey  occurred at the end of the thirties. For example, the amendment of articles in the Turkish Penal Code  and the like.  This exaggerated anti-communist  reflex to the approaching Second  World War. Those at the head of the state's internal security and national defense units   are responsible for this policy change. I would like to express my opinion   on this matter   immediately.  Minister of Interior Şükrü Kaya and Chief of General Staff Fevzi Pasha wanted to completely eliminate any kind of publication and organization that could threaten the existing order from the left.

However, there was no potential for a communist organization in Turkey that could threaten the existing power structure. It is certain that the Military Academy and Navy trials, which were opened one after another in 1938, were initiated by a political decision made from above.  Military  in the courts  these cases heard resulted in Kemal Tahir  and Dr. Hikmet Kıvılcımlı being sentenced to 15 years each, and Nazım to 28  years and 4 months  in prison.  The decisions concluded with their imprisonment. I explain the severity of the verdicts  by Fevzi Pasha's psychopathological level of anti-communism. 

Others who were convicted in these cases alongside Nazım  The names spent  the years of the Second World War in prison. The verdicts    Military  at the Court of Cassation  were upheld. The first  place they were taken to was Çankırı Prison.  

Nazım Hikmet, due to having a heart attack  and other  due to health reasons and thanks to the mediation of Dayı Paşa  he was brought from Çankırı to Bursa Prison. Kemal Tahir and Dr. Hikmet were also transferred to small  provincial centers in Anatolia. The aforementioned  Dayı Paşa,  is Ali Fuat Cebesoy,  who was a relative through Nazım's mother, Celile Hanım. 

Nazım Hikmet remained in Bursa Prison from 1940 to 1950. During his years of imprisonment, he tried to make a living by doing various jobs, ranging from weaving to translating Tolstoy. to Piraye and  from Vedat Örfi  her children  He tried to cover the expenses of Mehmet and Suzan. He sincerely  acted as a father  to them. And he did so even under prison conditions. 

NAZIM'S CONVICTION AND THE AMENDMENT MADE  TO THE TURKISH PENAL CODE 

At the beginning of January 1938, Nazım Hikmet was  unaware of everything  and was busy with  magazine publishing and cinema work. Searches were conducted at the Harbiye  and other military schools. The students'  dormitories were raided. During the searches, materials related to Gorky, Zola, Andre Malraux, the Spanish Civil War, and dialectical materialism  were found  along with various  publications  and Nazım's poetry book titled "Why Did Benerji Kill Himself?"  were found. The poem  dealt with the struggle of an  Indian revolutionary. All the books in question had been published. Nazım was accused of attempting to establish a communist organization. 

The poet's  detention,  arrest, and  conviction   happened briefly as follows: Nazım was working at his home in Nişantaşı with Hilmi Ziya Ülken to publish a magazine. He was taken into custody. He was taken to the Kadıköy Pier  and taken away.  From there, he was transferred to the Erkin ship off the coast of Silivri. Kemal Tahir's brother, Nuri Tahir, was also a petty officer in the Navy.  Among his private  documents,  books by Sabahattin Ali were found.  These  none of which actually constituted a crime.  

During the same days, along with  Kerim Korcan,  publishers  Doctor Hikmet Kıvılcımlı and his wife Fatma Nudiye Yalçı  were also taken into custody. All the individuals taken into custody were first  arrested and then  convicted. 

On July 16, 1938, with Law No. 3531, the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)  articles 141 and 142 were amended. These changes  were introduced to the TCK to combat communism.  In the version of the articles prior to the amendment, the phrase "using violence" appeared three times. With this change, the phrase "using violence" was removed. Although it may seem like a minor touch-up,  the consequences of the change were very radical. Previously,  a  citizen could express communism as an idea   declare  if it had  criminal  sanctions. After this change,  all kinds of communist activities (actions and words) were transformed into the crime of attempting to overthrow the regime. At this time, Nazım had been convicted in the Military Academy case and was being tried in the Navy case.

IN THE NAVY  CASE  ON THE COURT PANEL  WHO  WERE THERE?

In this case,   the members  of the panel  that delivered  the verdict  are not  definitively known. Among the judges,   only one of whom was a legal professional  while the others  were naval   officers of various ranks  it is known. 

Regarding  the Navy  case  two  names worth mentioning.  The first of these is Admiral Fahri Çoker.  Çoker was  a young  military  judge in 1938.  Later, he served as a Military  He became the President of the Court of Cassation  and a quota senator. The person who appointed him to the senate was also a sailor: Fahri Korutürk.  He is the author of the book  titled Excerpts from the Recent History  of our Navy.  Çoker's  trial  I encountered statements suggesting he was on the panel during the proceedings but recused himself during the decision-making phase. However, this is not certain.  In this book, Çoker also recounts the stages of Nazım's conviction. The second  is   military judge Lieutenant Haluk Şehsuvaroğlu. Şehsuvaroğlu was the military judge  assigned during the initial investigation  phase. He had decided that there was no need  for an investigation and that the detainees  should be released. But developments  the decision he  rendered  did not turn out in his favor. Other  names  were assigned. Haluk Şehsuvaroğlu was also  Nazım's  at Dolmabahçe  sick  who was imprisoned  to Atatürk  the letter he wrote  to deliver  attempting  person. After the  heavy conviction sentences given  military  He left the ruling class. He taught at military schools.  His final  positions were at the Naval Museum  and the Topkapı Palace  directorship.  On Ottoman history  published  works  many of his works   are available. 

THE END OF WORLD WAR II AND AMNESTY EXPECTATIONS 

When the war ended, the 1946 democracy was established in Turkey. A transition to a multi-party  political life took place. These  developments also brought a general amnesty to the agenda. From 1946 to 1950, communists who had been sentenced to heavy penalties in the 30s waited for an amnesty.  At the same time,  there was a fierce struggle between the Democrat Party and the ruling party, the CHP.  was continuing. 

THE VISITS OF MÜNEVVER ANDAÇ, AYŞE BAŞTIMAR, AND PERİDE CELAL TO NAZIM 

In 1948,  Münevver Andaç, Ayşe Baştımar, and  Peride Celal  went to visit Nazım  at Bursa Prison. Münevver was the daughter of Nazım's uncle,  and Ayşe was his aunt.  was his daughter. 

Nazım was deeply affected by Münevver. He was practically struck by her. He even   wrote about this with great enthusiasm to Vala Nurettin.  This was perfectly normal. The poet had been in prison since 1938.  He had first seen Münevver together with Mehmet Ali Aybar  in Beyoğlu.  In the meantime, let us note that Münevver was born in Sofia in 1917.   Diplomat  his father  had died in 1921  . His mother, Gabrielle, was French. In 1935,  he returned to Turkey with his sister Leyla  . They  enrolled him in the Istanbul Faculty of Law  . All  of these developments  that his uncle, Pasha Ali Fuat Cebesoy,  spearheaded  it.   I believe. Nazım  last saw Münevver in 1935 at the home of Ali Fuat Pasha's father, İsmail Fazıl Pasha. Even then, there had been  a closeness between them. During the years of Nazım's  imprisonment, Münevver married the painter Nurullah Berk  and had a daughter  had happened: Renan. After this visit, there was correspondence between Nazım and Münevver. 

After Münevver's first visit, when rumors of a general amnesty fell off the agenda, she set aside her closeness with Nazım and returned to her home and husband. When the amnesty came back onto the agenda, Münevver went to visit him in Bursa once more. After  this, their  relationship  continued. 

AHMET EMİN YALMAN'S  VISITS TO  NAZIM 

Ahmet Emin Yalman, in the August 19, 1949 issue of Vatan newspaper,  published an article titled Tevfik Fikret and Nazım Hikmet. With this  article, he initiated the campaign for Nazım's freedom. 

Ahmet Emin Yalman believed that Nazım   was innocent.   The article he wrote after his   first visit  was a feature   atmosphere  was. He found Nazım  in terms of  communist ideals  to have been reformed.  After a potential  amnesty,  when he regained his freedom  what he would do.  Nazım said he would  go into "poultry farming."  He was alone when he  came the second time as well.  On the third visit,  he was accompanied by  his wife.  and had brought other people from the intellectual circles of Istanbul.   Turkey  had  now passed  a turning point. There should have been  more  freedom.   In the past, political  reasons  believed that people who were convicted  should regain their freedom. 

Ahmet Emin was a liberal. During the Second Constitutional Era, he had received  journalism training in the USA  with a scholarship   from the Committee of Union and Progress. He found Nazım Hikmet's  imprisonment for such a long time to be unjust. Eventually, he visited him in prison and launched a campaign. In the newspaper he owned and served as editor-in-chief for,  Vatan published an extensive report. It requested that the newspaper's lawyer, Mehmet Ali Sebük, examine   from a legal perspective  Nazım's conviction file. 

 Lawyer Mehmet Ali Sebük published an 11-day  long   series  in Vatan.  Sebük  in his writings, he argues that the 1938 trials  were contrary to the fundamental principles of law,  asserting that Nazım's  imprisonment  for such  a long time  was a legal tragedy as  he described it. 

The situation  was indeed exactly that. In the Military Academy and Navy trials, other than the discovery of some non-prohibited, published books in the personal lockers of military students and personnel,  there was no evidence.  And those  were not crimes anyway. Despite this, the discovery of these publications  led to the cases  constituted the basis  and was considered the crime of inciting military rebellion. 

In both cases, the person  sentenced to the harshest penalty was Nazım Hikmet.  If the sentence had been fully carried out, Nazım would have remained in prison until 1966. 

THE REASON FOR  AHMET EMİN YALMAN'S  INTEREST IN Nazım Hikmet 

Ahmet Emin Yalman   is one of the  important figures  in our  press and  publishing history.  In the press of the Constitutional  and Armistice periods  exists.   His father was in Thessaloniki  the Gazi's  handwriting teacher  it seems.  With a scholarship  provided by the Committee of Union  and Progress to the USA  sent. He received higher education  in journalism  there. It is even said that he  held  a doctorate from Columbia. He went to the USA in 1910 and returned in 1913. I always  wonder how he managed to fit  his undergraduate and doctoral studies into three years.  During the Armistice, he was arrested by the British  was arrested  and exiled to Malta. He returned to the country during the Inebolu  exchange.  However,  he did not cross into  Anatolia and came to Istanbul instead. Later, he went to Ankara several times to meet with the  Speaker of the Grand National Assembly. He supported the National Struggle.   But he preferred to stay in Istanbul  continuing.  

In 1922, at the Adapazarı  station, he held his famous  interview with the President of the TBMM and  Commander-in-Chief  Mustafa Kemal  Pasha.  In the newspaper Vakit  published. Here  the photo taken is very  famous. I also  like it a lot. Yalman  1923  held at the beginning of  to the Izmit press conference   invited  is one of the journalists.  After the liberation, 

Yalman  supported the  Progressive   movement. In terms of his  ideological structure,  he favored American-style democracy.  defended.  we can say.  With the  Law on the Maintenance of Order decisions,  his newspaper was shut down. He was tried. He was exiled. For a while, he   stayed away from  the press.  Regarding this to Atatürk  it is said that he  committed  to. Towards the end of the Atatürk  era  he  newspaper  began to publish Vatan again.   

From 1946  onward, he supported  the Democrat Party. A  climate  of  freedom  had begun to blow in the country.   War   had ended, and in the world  a new  order  had been established, and Turkey  had taken a stance   in favor of  the  "Free World." 

It was necessary  to defend  policies  consistent  with these  winds of freedom   blowing. Yalman   wrote articles in this direction   wrote. He adopted a stance defending freedom of thought and expression. He addressed  the  overturning  of past    judicial  decisions  that were contrary to law. He brought the issue of  Nazım Hikmet's amnesty to the agenda.  the reason for  bringing  this about. 

His close relations with the Democrat Party  deteriorated over time. After 1954, Menderes' adoption of a majoritarian-authoritarian regime  would lead to  a complete breakdown in their relationship. Yalman went to prison before May 27.  After the revolution  then  released.  was  .

INDIVIDUAL AMNESTY CAMPAIGN FOR NAZIM 

A broad campaign was being conducted for Nazım's release.  In Europe, this campaign was being carried out by communists, socialists, and social democrats. 

In Turkey, the organizers of the campaign were Münevver Andaç and Ayşe Baştımar. The first signatories were Adnan and Halide Edip Adıvar  had become a couple.  But the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM)  would not bring the matter   to its agenda. Each time, Nazım fell into a deeper state of depression.

 Before the 1950 elections, lawyers İrfan Emin Kösemihaloğlu and Mehmet Ali Sebük made  many attempts in Ankara. A retrial,  a pardon by the  President  such as  all of the  avenues.  They appealed to all of them. They went to İsmet Pasha.  To ask him to pardon the poet.  İnönü pointed to the  Minister of Justice. He said, go to Fuat Sirmen first.  The documents   at the ministry  let it be completed   he meant to say I will approve it. On the other hand  he expressed his condolences to the poet and sent  greetings. 

İnönü's  this procedural  of the approach   another  reason for   approaching  upcoming  in the elections, the Democrat Party's "İnönü  is pardoning the communists"   might be to avoid being exposed to propaganda. 

NAZIM'S HUNGER  STRIKE BEGINS  

 Mehmet Ali Sebük, along with  İrfan Emin Kösemihaloğlu, who had been  Nazım's lawyer since 1931,  exhausted all legal avenues  to save him.  They repeatedly attempted to secure a retrial and sought a presidential pardon. Every   both of whom were executives of the ruling party, the CHP,  met with the relevant ministers and President  İnönü  several  times.  They held meetings.

The growing amnesty campaign for Nazım Hikmet to regain his freedom was also  supported by international public opinion.  

Meanwhile, Münevver Andaç  and  Ayşe Baştımar also launched  a petition campaign.  Both were his cousins on his mother's side.  Münevver was the daughter of his uncle, and Ayşe was the daughter of his aunt.  His mother, Celile, also took part in a signature collection protest at the Karaköy Bridge.  His mother, Celile, also took part in a signature collection protest at the Karaköy Bridge.

For three   years,   Nazım, who had been disappointed by the expectation of an amnesty, began a hunger strike in Bursa Prison, influenced by the growing atmosphere both inside and outside the country calling for his release. (April 8, 1950) 

The first  hunger  strike lasted a few days. At the  request of his friends,  he ended it. The second hunger strike he initiated  it would last eight days. 

When the Grand National Assembly of Turkey adjourned its sessions to reconvene after the elections, Nazım's hunger strike was left without a recipient. 

CALL TO END THE HUNGER STRIKE 

To Nazım Hikmet, who was  lying as a prisoner patient in Cerrahpaşa and continuing his hunger strike,  a call  letter arrived. Since the country had  entered an election period,   The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) had  suspended its sessions.  There is no  institution   that could address  Nazım's   action. For this reason, the couple Halide Edip and Adnan Adıvar  as well as Falih Rıfkı  within  a group of writers  wrote a letter stating, "The responsible authority that will address your legitimate demands has not yet effectively acknowledged them. We insistently request that you pause your hunger strike until the new  government is formed." Upon this, Nazım, in order to await  the results of the elections,  of the hunger strike  eighth  on the day  by eating a kilo of strawberries brought by Münevver  ended his protest. the convening of the Ninth Term of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey  and the potential  amnesty  law    deliberations  waited. 

WHO IS   LAWYER  MEHMET ALİ  SEBÜK? 

for the campaign  to release  Nazım  leading  the  lawyer  Mehmet Ali Sebük was a Republic Prosecutor who rose to the position of Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation. Later, he began  practicing  law.   He had received training in criminology in France. He possessed a level of expertise above that of the average legal professional in Turkey. He prioritized the rule of law over the government. He had his own law  firm. This  in addition to serving as the lawyer for Ahmet Emin Yalman's Vatan newspaper. After visiting Nazım Hikmet in Bursa in 1949, Yalman asked Mehmet  Ali Sebük to   examine  the matter. Sebük published a serial in the Vatan newspaper.   In his articles, Sebük argued that the  evidence used in Nazım's  conviction was not in accordance with the law and that the subject matter  could not constitute a crime  did not commit  the alleged crime. According to Sebük, the principle of  legality in crimes and punishments was not observed, the crime was fabricated, and harsh sentences were imposed. Nullum Crimen Nulla Poena Sine Lege  was not followed. Lawyer  Sebük spoke of how Nazım was unjustly left to rot  in dungeons.  

Mehmet Ali Sebük was elected as a Democrat Party deputy for İzmir in the 1954  elections. 10th Term.  In the Yassıada Supreme Court of Justice  trials, he not only  undertook the defense of Adnan  Menderes, but also  defended Ömer Ayna during the  March 12 interim regime period. No one's  continued to defend suspects in cases  he did not  wish to defend.  Interestingly enough,  when he wanted to go to Germany for cancer treatment,  he was not issued a passport. Yet, he was a former  member of parliament. Moreover, he had been elected  from the Democrat Party. He passed away in 1991 at the age of 80.  said goodbye.

WHO IS LAWYER İrfan Emin KÖSEMİHALOĞLU?

From 1949 onwards,  in the struggle  to save Nazım from prison  and secure his freedom,  lawyer Mehmet Ali Sebük  played a more prominent  even if seen as an identity, Nazım Hikmet's  first  lawyer and lifelong friend was İrfan Emin Kösemihaloğlu. 

He was the one who  defended Nazım in all his  cases from the beginning of the 30s. Nazım even  wrote an acrostic poem  for him. The poem  how are you?  bears the title  and continues with the lines "in my good days many  hands reach out to my hands/they hang my picture in the place of honor"  lines. Lawyer İrfan Emin could not defend the poet in the Military Academy and Navy trials.  Because the military  in court proceedings, the judicial authority of the command  had to provide  approval.  In military courts,  the person  being tried  by the command's  appropriate   seen/approved   a lawyer  could defend him. İrfan Emin's power of attorney   was rejected.  Others were appointed. İrfan Emin could not defend Nazım in the navy case.

After Nazım's conviction was upheld by the Military Court of Cassation, his relationship with his attorney  İrfan Emin, how did it  continue? I do not have detailed information on this matter. Regarding this  together with Nazım Münevver's  visit  afterwards, he had fallen deeply in love. He decided to divorce  Piraye. He sent a letter by hand  to his close relative  Rasih Güran and İrfan Emin.  He sent a letter by hand regarding the divorce   from Piraye.  In his case, Nazım's lawyer was İrfan Emin.  (March 23, 1951) 

EFFORTS TO  PREVENT  NAZIM'S PARDON 

 The issue of Nazım's pardon was being  heatedly discussed among university  students. The students had split into two camps.  The right-leaning  National Turkish Student Union, where students gathered, was against Nazım being pardoned  even if a general amnesty law were passed. The leaders of the association  prepared a petition with 5,000 signatures. So that Nazım would not be pardoned. The person who led  this campaign  was Suphi Baykam. Dr. Suphi Baykam  at that time  was a student at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine. Extremely  was leading nationalist demonstrations.  He later joined the CHP and was elected  as a member of parliament. Peyami Safa and Necip Fazıl also  spoke out against  the amnesty  for Nazım. 

Left-wing students, on the other hand, were  supporting the amnesty.  in the direction of  they wanted to organize a meeting.   In Laleli  that they held  the indoor  meeting  was raided by right-wing students. The police  the right-wing students'  violent  remained silent against the protests.  The same scenario would  Bloody  Sunday events as well.  In both incidents, the police would  right-wing  youths  its destruction by  only  will watch. 

Some Democrat Party deputies also joined the campaign to  exclude  Nazım from the amnesty. Leading them was  the father of Nazım's cousin Ayşe Baştımar,  Şevket Mocan  comes. 

In the ninth  term, he was elected as a  Tekirdağ  member of parliament from the Democrat Party list. He was hostile toward Nazım to the point of enmity. While the amnesty law was being debated, he constantly  tried to obstruct it. 

THE EXCEPTION CLAUSE FOR COMMUNISTS IN THE JULY 15, 1950 GENERAL AMNESTY LAW  CLAUSE 

The Democrat  Party appeared very liberal while in opposition.  Once they came to power, the situation changed. There was a group of deputies who wanted to keep communists outside the scope of the amnesty. They were particularly opposed to the pardoning of Nazım Hikmet. 

In the end, despite all  the obstacles, the communists were also pardoned. Or rather,  a special formula  was found for them: a reduction in the execution of their sentences.  

Along with Nazım,  Leftists who had been in prison since 1938 were released with a two-thirds sentence reduction. The Amnesty Law  was published in the Official Gazette  on July 15, 1950. 

When the law was enacted,  Nazım was undergoing treatment at Cerrahpaşa Hospital. Lawyer Mehmet Ali Sebük  completed the release documents at Üsküdar Paşakapısı Prison and brought them to Cerrahpaşa.  At the hospital,   Nazım's cousin Münevver and his lawyer and friend since 1931, İrfan Emin Kösemihaloğlu, were waiting by his side.  During  the release,  emotional moments were experienced. The doctors from Cerrahpaşa were by the poet's side the moment he regained his freedom. One of those who was present  at the moment  Nazım  gained his freedom was  the one who inspired Tanpınar's novel "A Mind at Peace"  to whom he dedicated it, was Dr. Tarık Temel. I believe  Dr. Fikret Ürgüp was also there. Psychiatrist Dr. Ürgüp was Sait Faik's doctor and the husband of  Enver Pasha's eldest daughter, Dr. Mahperker Hanımsultan.  Once the procedures 

were completed, lawyer İrfan Emin took Nazım and Münevver   by car to the home of the Va-Nus  (Va-Nu: short for Vala Nureddin)  residence.  Salacak Ayazma Mosque  near their  home. 

NAZIM'S  FORCED EXILE ABROAD  

The Democrat Party   government, following Nazım's   release from prison   in the 11 months leading up to his escape abroad  the poet  was given no breathing room. To put it  plainly  he was persecuted. To those who accuse him of treason   for leaving the country  I would like to  remind them of the following.  Nazım  was targeted to be killed  by having a car driven at him. For Münevver and  their unborn  child, he  had to work  and build a life  for them.  He was prevented from finding work. He  applied for a  passport  to  receive  the  international  award given to him.  The request  was denied. He was not issued a passport.  Despite graduating  from the Naval Academy and being  considered discharged from the army  due to a medical report,  he was   sought for military conscription. From 1928 to 1938, Nazım's military service had never been an issue.  The dispatch documents were prepared at the Kadıköy Military Recruitment Office.  His destination was the recruit training  unit in the Zara district  of Sivas.  The Haydarpaşa Military Hospital Health Board  issued a "fit for duty"  report. All of these were  the political power's [actions against] Nazım  demonstrating a determination  to darken  Hikmet's life.  Nazım believed he would be killed  while he was  conscripted into the military. The murder  of Sabahattin Ali  completely  had caused concern.  He decided  to flee  abroad. 

Nazım's  step-sister's husband, Refik Erduran, took him out from the Bosphorus to the Black Sea on a speedboat belonging to Malik Yolaç. Just at the exit of the Bosphorus,  a ship flying the Romanian   flag  they encountered.  The ship was a   freighter named  Plehanov. After the captain's  1.5-hour communication  with his country,  Nazım  was accepted onto the ship.  Erduran  returned. Refik Erduran was the husband of Melda Yasavul  . They were newlyweds. 

Mete Tunçay stated that Nazım   when leaving  the country, had no specific intention of going to Russia, and that his primary goal was to go to the West to receive the World Peace Council award  was  says. This  thought also  seems logical  to me. 

A few days later, it is  confirmed by official authorities  that Nazım is in Romania.  Subsequently   a widespread  campaign of treason  is launched against him.  Leading this is Ahmet Emin Yalman, who had been working for his release since 1949. Çetin Altan  and Nadir Nadi also  write  articles filled with  very harsh insults. 

 I recommend that you take a look at the writings of Çetin Altan and Nadir Nadi in particular.  Let me explain why  at that time,  the chief editor  of Cumhuriyet,  Nadir Nadi,  adopted such a stance.  Cumhuriyet Newspaper during the Second World War  years   had been shut down several times.  When the war ended, Cumhuriyet and its chief editor Nadir Nadi were  supporting the Democrat Party. Nadir Nadi  in the 1950  elections, from the Democrat Party  list  as a member of parliament  was elected. 

Democrat Party deputy Nadir Nadi wrote an article against Nazım Hikmet in Cumhuriyet on June 30, 1951. He accused Nazım of treason.  On July 25, 1951,   he was stripped of his citizenship by a Council of Ministers decree. The author of the Kuvayı Milliye  Epic  was accused by the pro-US government  of having "joined the reds"  as the justification.   had been  stripped of his citizenship.