The Second Term Ankara Independence Tribunal and Distolcular Case (1925-1927)

The Tarikat-ı Salahiye Society, which was brought to trial in the Distolcular Case before the Second Term Ankara Independence Tribunal, was a secret organization founded on September 19, 1920, by Kiraz Hamdi Pasha, and it operated against the National Struggle. The members of this society were generally drawn from the ranks of the English Admirers' Society (İngiliz Muhipleri), Nigehban, and İla-yı Vatan societies, as well as from supporters of the Freedom and Accord Party (Hürriyet ve İtilafçılar), giving the appearance of a religious organization. Describing it as an "Islamic Freemasonry," Kiraz Hamdi Pasha structured it with secretive organization, abundant religious rituals, symbols, ranks, and stages. Claiming to pursue a universal Islamic policy, the society included the ideology of Pan-Islamism (İttihat-ı İslam) in its statutes. However, its religious character was limited to its regulations and served only to mask its political aims and activities. In reality, the society was founded to protect the interests of Sultan Mehmet VI Vahideddin, the Istanbul Government, and the British, and all its efforts were directed at undermining the National Struggle. After the National Struggle, while the founder Kiraz Hamdi Pasha and some leading members fled abroad, the society continued its existence in secrecy. While Hamdi Pasha worked in Europe with fugitive members of the 150 Exiles (Yüzellilikler) and Mehmet VI Vahideddin to overthrow the Republic and restore the caliphate and sultanate, the members who remained in Istanbul maintained secret communication with their exiled counterparts and continued to meet in coffeehouses. The society became active again during the Sheikh Said Rebellion of 1925, with its members both inside and outside the country striving to expand and intensify the uprising. Among them, some members traveled around Anatolia under the guise of selling an animal medicine called Distol, encouraging rebellion, spreading religious propaganda in favor of the caliphate, and inciting hostility against the government. One such figure, Osman Daver, was arrested on May 28 near Konya under suspicion. The discovery of a letter on him, along with subsequent investigations, exposed the existence of the society. Further inquiries led to the arrest of his associates, who were then sent to the Ankara Independence Tribunal for trial. The Second Term Ankara Independence Tribunal was one of the two Independence Tribunals that operated during the Republican period. On February 13, 1925, the Sheikh Said Rebellion erupted in Eastern Anatolia, posing the greatest reactionary threat to the survival, peace, and security of the country at the time. Since military operations alone were insufficient to suppress the uprising, İsmet Pasha, who had returned to the premiership, enacted the Law on the Maintenance of Order (Takrir-i Sükûn Kanunu) on March 4, 1925, introducing significant measures. Within the framework of this law, the Independence Tribunal of the Rebellion Zone and the reactivated Ankara Independence Tribunal played highly effective roles in suppressing the uprising and punishing those responsible. While the Rebellion Zone Tribunal was directly responsible for trying the rebels, the Ankara Tribunal, although also dealing with cases connected to the rebellion, examined various cases under the Law on Treason Against the Homeland (Hıyanet-i Vataniye Kanunu) and, owing to its central location, functioned as a traveling court when necessary. The Ankara Tribunal stood out for the number and significance of the trials it conducted, including cases involving the Progressive Republican Party (Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası), journalists, opposition to the Hat Law, the assassination attempt on Atatürk, and the trials of Unionists (İttihatçılar). Among these, the Distolcular Case has not attracted much attention until now, yet it was of great importance in exposing and eliminating a clandestine organization that had long conspired, both domestically and abroad, against the nation. During the trial, documents seized, together with witness and defendant testimonies, revealed that the society was headed by Mehmet VI Vahideddin himself, that it had exploited religious sentiments as a cover for political objectives, and that from its inception, it had been dedicated to betraying the country. As a result of the trials, 11 defendants whose direct links to the society were proven beyond doubt were sentenced to death, while some others received hard labor sentences, and those against whom definitive evidence could not be found, despite their association with the society, were acquitted. Among those tried were notable figures such as Ahmet Refik, Aksekili Ahmet Hamdi, and Lütfi Fikri Bey. The court concluded that they had no proven ties to the society and acquitted them.