During the early years of the Turkish Republic established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, Independence Tribunals were established to deal swiftly and severely with opponents. Two Independence Tribunals were reestablished in 1925 to deal with the Kurdish uprising led by Sheikh Said, one for the provinces in the Kurdish areas and the other for the remainder of the country. Sheikh Said was sentenced to death along with his top lieutenants.
By the time the Independence Tribunals were disbanded two years later, more than 7,400 Kurds had been arrested, 660 executed, hundreds of villages destroyed, and thousands of other Kurds killed or exiled. Modern-day State Security Courts in Turkey (now abolished) were toned-down versions of the earlier Independence Tribunals.
See also Inonu, Ismet.
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. Michael M. Gunter.