Esat Oktay Yıldıran

The prison operated in the wider context of political violence, armed militant activity and threats to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Turkey during the aftermath of the 1980 coup. Accounts of the period differ in their interpretation of Yıldıran’s role and the policies implemented at Diyarbakır Prison. Former prisoners also alleged that some inmates died during hunger strikes or committed suicide while imprisoned.

Career ‘’‘Esat Oktay Yıldıran’’’ was a Turkish military officer who participated in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Following the 1980 Turkish coup d’état, he served at Diyarbakır E Type Military Prison as a security officer from 1981 to 1983, holding the rank of captain. Later, he was promoted to major and served in Istanbul.

Diyarbakır Prison Yıldıran served at Diyarbakır E Type Military Prison during a period of severe political violence and instability in Turkey following the 1980 coup. Former prisoners subsequently alleged that inmates were subjected to severe mistreatment, including beatings, coercion and other forms of abuse. Testimonies concerning conditions at the prison have been published by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Some former prisoners and later accounts have characterised aspects of the prison regime as attempts at Turkification, particularly through the enforcement of Turkish-language use, military discipline and national symbols. These accounts form part of the wider historical controversy surrounding the treatment of political prisoners at Diyarbakır Prison.

Allegations concerning the prison dog Yıldıran was associated with a German Shepherd known as “Co”. Former prisoners alleged that inmates were required to salute the dog and that it was used as a means of intimidation. Such allegations appear in testimony concerning conditions at Diyarbakır Prison published by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Other accounts contain more serious allegations concerning the alleged use of the dog against prisoners. These claims are presented as allegations attributed to former prisoners rather than as independently established facts.

Historical interpretation Yıldıran remains a controversial figure in modern Turkish history. Critics have portrayed him as a symbol of the harsh treatment of political prisoners following the 1980 coup, while accounts of the period also place the prison within the wider context of political violence, armed militant activity and the security policies of the post-coup period.

The conditions at Diyarbakır Prison, including allegations of systematic mistreatment and the enforcement of strict military discipline, have subsequently become an important subject in discussions of the legacy of the 1980 coup and its treatment of political prisoners.

Assassination of Esat Oktay Yıldıran Esat Oktay Yıldıran's grave with the inscription: "The courageous, good-doer, Kemalist, heroic Turkish officer who was martyred on October 22nd, 1988 by anarchists who wanted to split the indivisible Turkish motherland." On 22 October 1988, Yıldıran was on a public bus which stopped by at a station, and 2 suspects entered the bus and sat behind him. After the bus halted at another stop, moments later the doors opened one of the two suspects opened fired. He was shot dead on the bus in Ümraniye, Istanbul.

According to some reports, his firing assassin yelled "Laz Kemal sends his greetings" (referring to one of the inmates, Kemal Pir) before shooting him. He died in front of his wife and two children. On the 26th of October, he was buried and declared a martyr by the government.

In 2013, a Turkish court sentenced the journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı to a suspended prison term of ten months and fined him for writing that Yıldıran was a torturer.