9.  Between 1979 and 1985 the applicants were arrested by policemen and placed in police custody. They were accused of membership of an illegal organisation, the Dev-Yol (Revolutionary Way). The Ankara Martial Law Court (Sıkıyönetim Mahkemesi) remanded the applicants in custody. 10.  The beginning and the end of the criminal proceedings against the applicants are as follows:
 
Applicant's name
Beginning of the criminal proceedings
End of the criminal proceedings
1) Şaban Değirmenci
17 February 1981
27 December 1995
2) Mehmet Baha Çetintaş
5 February 1981
27 December 1995
3) Yılmaz Ergül
17 July 1980
27 December 1995
4) İbrahim Arslan
9 July 1981
27 December 1995
5) Ercan Uğur
18 August 1981
27 December 1995
6) İsmail Tayfun Üstün
27 December 1980
27 December 1995
7) Abdullah Evcil
9 April 1980
27 December 1995
8) Abdullah Şengörenoğlu
6 December 1980
27 December 1995
9) İsmail Tümay
12 December 1980
27 December 1995
10) Ziya Uncu
24 November 1980
27 December 1995
11) Mehmet Üresin 
17 July 1980
27 December 1995
12) Naci Zaman
17 September 1980
27 December 1995
13) Özgür Ovacık
24 September 1980
27 December 1995
14) Kemal Elhan 
27 October 1980
27 December 1995
15) Murat Parlakay
23 November 1980
still pending
16) Celal Mut
1 October 1980
still pending
17) Mehmet Hassoy
24 January 1980
still pending
18) Bedia Zehra Torun
22 January 1981
27 December 1995
19) Arif Kandemir
10 September 1981
27 December 1995
20) Nejdet Özen 
11 April 1980
27 December 1995
21) Metin Bakkalcı
8 October 1980
27 December 1995
22) Lütfi Doğan Tılıç
20 April 1981
27 December 1995
23) Hürriyet Eğer
2 September 1979
27 December 1995
24) Esma Güzel
9 September 1980
27 December 1995
25) Tuncay Kara
24 November 1980
27 December 1995
26) Ali Özkan Çakırlar
1 December 1980
27 December 1995
27) Ertuğrul Özbek
31 August 1980
27 December 1995
28) Mehmet Şahin
4 September 1980
27 December 1995
29) Mehmet Akif Aküzüm
31 October 1980
27 December 1995
30) Mehmet Nuri Sarpkaya
11 November 1980
27 December 1995
31) Abdülrezzak Erten
29 October 1980
27 December 1995
32) İlhan Burhan Çam1
7 November 1980
27 December 1995
33) Hacı Badem
9 September 1980
27 December 1995
34) Sami Altuntaş
29 October 1980
27 December 1995
35) Ahter Yıldız
12 July 1981
27 December 1995
36) Recai Kireç
7 September 1979
27 December 1995
37) Halil Ulutaş
21 September 1984
27 December 1995
[1. Rectified on 18 November 2003. The name of İlhan Burhan Çam was mentioned as : 'Burhan Çam'.] 11.  On 26 February 1982 the Military Public Prosecutor filed a bill of indictment with the Ankara Martial Law Court setting out the charges against 723 defendants, including the applicants. He accused the applicants of membership of an organisation whose aim was to undermine the constitutional order and replace it with a Marxist-Leninist regime, contrary to Article 146 § 1 of the Turkish Criminal Code. 12.  On different dates the applicants were all released pending trial by the Ankara Martial Law Court. 13.  After martial law was lifted, the Ankara Martial Law Court was thereafter referred as the Martial Law Court attached to the 4th Army Corps. 14.  On 19 July 1989 the Martial Law Court convicted the applicants and sentenced them to various terms of imprisonment. 15.  As the applicants' sentences exceeded 15 years' imprisonment, their cases were automatically referred to the Military Court of Cassation (Askeri Yargıtay). 16.  Following promulgation of the Law of 26 December 1994, which abolished the jurisdiction of the martial law courts, the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) acquired jurisdiction over the cases, and the files were sent to it. 17.  On 27 December 1995 the Court of Cassation decided:
-  to uphold the first-instance court's judgment in respect of 13 of the applicants (Baha Çetintaş, Yılmaz Ergül, Mehmet Üresin, İbrahim Arslan, Tayfun Üstün, Abdullah Evcil, Kemal Elhan, Ercan Uğur, Naci Zaman, Özgür Ovacık, Abdullah Şengörenoğlu, İsmail Tümay and Ziya Uncu);
-  to quash the first-instance court's judgment on the ground that the court had failed to apply the legal provisions relevant to the crime in question in respect of 3 of the applicants (Murat Parlakay, Celal Mut and Mehmet Hassoy) and to transfer the cases to the Ankara Assize Court; and
-  to uphold the first-instance court's judgment with some amendments in respect of 7 of the applicants (Arif Kandemir, Hürriyet Eğer, Nejdet Özen, Lütfi Doğan Tılıç, Bedia Zehra Torun, Metin Bakkalcı and Şaban Değirmenci). 18.  As regards 14 of the applicants (Tuncay Kara, Ertuğrul Özbek, Mehmet Şahin, İlhan Burhan Çam [Rectified on 18 November 2003. The name of İlhan Burhan Çam was mentioned as : 'Burhan Çam'.], Esma Güzel, Ali Özkan Çakırlar, Mehmet Akif Aküzüm, Mehmet Nuri Sarpkaya, Abdülrezzak Erten, Hacı Badem, Sami Altıntaş, Ahter Yıldız, Recai Kireç and Halil Ulutaş), the Court of Cassation held that the criminal proceedings should be discontinued on the ground that the prosecution was time-barred (zamanaşımı).