After the military coup of September 12, 1980, 31 journalists were imprisoned, and 796 journalists faced 632 lawsuits, with a total of 4,000 years in prison requested.
Following the coup, martial law was declared across Turkey, all political parties and associations were dissolved, and extensive censorship was imposed on the press. Many newspapers were shut down during this period.
Journalists were sentenced to a combined total of 3,315 years in prison, and 300 journalists were physically assaulted. Notable cases include Nazlı Ilıcak, who was sentenced to three months in prison, while Cumhuriyet newspaper’s Managing Editor Okay Görensin was detained for 15 days, and the paper’s İzmir correspondent Hikmet Çetinkaya was held for 17 days.
According to a report by the Contemporary Journalists’ Association, several newspapers faced repeated bans: Milli Gazete was banned four times for a total of 72 days, Cumhuriyet four times for 41 days, Tercüman twice for 29 days, Günaydın twice for 17 days, Güneş once for 10 days, Tan once for 9 days, and Hürriyet twice for 7 days. In total, seven newspapers were banned 16 times for a combined 185 days.
In addition, 303 lawsuits were filed against 13 major newspapers, and 39 tons of newspapers and magazines were destroyed. Various authorities imposed 927 publication bans during this period.
