Criminal law and procedure

Rights in questioning and police custody

When the police or the prosecutor take a statement, the suspect must be told the accusation, the right to a defence lawyer (müdafi) of their choice who may be present, and the right to remain silent. If they want a lawyer but cannot appoint one, the bar appoints one, and a relative of their choice is told of the arrest (Criminal Procedure Code, CMK art. 147/1). A lawyer is appointed without a request for a child (under 18: Criminal Code, TCK art. 6) and wherever the minimum penalty is more than five years’ imprisonment (CMK art. 150).

• Police statements. A statement obtained by ill-treatment, deception or threats is not evidence. One taken by the police without a lawyer cannot ground a judgment unless the suspect confirms it before a judge or court (art. 148).
• The lawyer. The suspect may meet the lawyer at any time, in private and without a power of attorney (art. 154/1).
• Interpreter and consulate. Anyone who does not speak enough Turkish is given an interpreter, and the State Treasury pays for a person who does not know Turkish (art. 202, 324/5). A foreign national’s consulate is told of the arrest and of any detention unless they object in writing (art. 95/2, 107/3).

Custody (gözaltı) may last at most 24 hours from the arrest, not counting the time needed to reach the nearest judge, which may not exceed 12 hours (art. 91/1). For a collective offence, one committed by three or more people, the prosecutor may extend it in writing, one day at a time, for up to three days, where evidence is hard to gather or there are many suspects (art. 2(k), 91/3). The detainee, their lawyer or close family may ask the criminal judge of peace (sulh ceza hâkimi) for release; the judge decides within 24 hours (art. 91/5).

A worked example (hypothetical). Three people are arrested together at 22:00 on a Friday, and the evidence is hard to gather. Custody may run until 22:00 on Saturday, plus up to 12 hours to reach the judge (CMK art. 91/1). As the offence is a collective one, the prosecutor may extend it in writing one day at a time, at most until 22:00 on Tuesday (art. 91/3). Anyone not released by then is brought before the judge and questioned with their lawyer present (art. 91/7).

Pre-trial detention and objecting to it

Detention (tutuklama) requires concrete evidence of strong suspicion and a ground: a risk of flight, of destroying evidence, or of pressuring witnesses or victims. It may not be ordered if it is out of proportion to the case and the expected penalty (CMK art. 100/1–2), nor for offences punishable only by a judicial fine or by at most two years’ imprisonment, unless the offence is an intentional one against bodily integrity (art. 100/4). The decision must say why judicial control (adli kontrol), such as a travel ban or house arrest, would not be enough (art. 101/2, 109/3).

For terrorism, state-security and collective offences, the investigation limit is 1½ years, extendable by 6 months. The limits are halved for those under 15 at the time of the act and cut to three quarters for those under 18 (CMK art. 102).

1. Ask for release. At any stage; the judge decides within three days, or seven for organised-crime offences (art. 104, 105).
2. Use the 30-day review. During the investigation, the criminal judge of peace reviews detention at least every 30 days, and the suspect may ask for a review sooner (art. 108).
3. Object within two weeks of learning of the decision, by petition or a statement to the court clerk; a detainee may lodge it through the prison director (art. 263, 268/1).
4. Know who decides. An objection to a detention or judicial-control order of the criminal judge of peace goes to the judge of the criminal court of first instance (asliye ceza). It does not suspend detention, and the decision on it is final unless it orders detention for the first time (art. 268/3(b), 269/1, 271/4).

Compensation. A person detained unlawfully, or detained and later not prosecuted or acquitted, may claim damages from the State within three months of notice that the decision is final, and at most one year after it became final (CMK art. 141–142).

The heavy penal court (ağır ceza mahkemesi)

At first instance, a criminal case goes either to the criminal court of first instance (asliye ceza), which sits with one judge, or to the heavy penal court, which sits with a president and two members (Law No. 5235 on the courts, art. 9). The heavy penal court hears offences punishable by (aggravated) life imprisonment or more than 10 years’ imprisonment, and some offences whatever their penalty, such as robbery, fraudulent bankruptcy and terrorism offences; the asliye ceza court hears the rest (art. 11–12). The test is the maximum penalty the law sets, without aggravating or mitigating circumstances (art. 14).

In a heavy penal case, a lawyer is appointed without a request if the minimum penalty is more than five years (CMK art. 150/3), the longer detention limits apply (art. 102), questioning through a letter of request (istinabe) is ruled out if the minimum penalty is five years or more (art. 196/2), and the regional court of appeal reviews sentences of 15 years or more of its own motion (art. 272/1). The stages are the same in both courts:

1. Investigation. It runs from the first suspicion until the indictment is accepted; decisions that need a judge go to the criminal judge of peace (CMK art. 2(e); Law 5235 art. 10).
2. Indictment. If the evidence gives sufficient suspicion, the prosecutor indicts; the court may return the indictment within 15 days, otherwise the trial begins (CMK art. 170/2, 174–175).
3. Hearing and judgment. The accused must attend, with limited exceptions (art. 193, 196).

Common offences: complaint and reconciliation

Whether an offence needs the victim’s complaint is stated in its own article. Reconciliation (uzlaştırma) covers every complaint-based offence and the offences listed in CMK art. 253/1, but never sexual offences, persistent stalking or insult (art. 253/3).

Fraud and theft. Since 25 December 2025, a bank, payment service provider or crypto-asset service provider may suspend for up to 48 hours an account suspected of use in fraud through IT systems or banks, fraud by someone posing as an official or bank employee, theft through IT systems or card misuse. It must report the suspension to the prosecutor, and money found to belong to the victim is returned (CMK art. 128/A). Since 31 July 2026, the penalty is halved for a person whose part in fraud was only handing over their payment card or account details (TCK art. 158/4). Effective repentance (etkin pişmanlık), shown by repaying the victim’s loss in full, cuts the penalty for theft or fraud by up to two thirds if it comes before the indictment is accepted, and by up to half if it comes before judgment (art. 168).

Drugs. Possession falls under art. 191 when it is for personal use, and otherwise under art. 188/3. Under art. 191 the prosecutor defers the prosecution for five years, with at least a year of probation and possible treatment; compliance ends the case, while renewed use or persistent breach leads to a prosecution (art. 191/2–7). A user who asks for treatment before an investigation starts is not punished (art. 192/4).

Injury, threat and sexual offences. Penalties for intentional injury and threat were raised in 2025 (Law No. 7550); this page does not repeat them. A child or a victim psychologically affected by the offence is heard as a witness only once where possible, with a person qualified in psychology, psychiatry, medicine or education present (CMK art. 236/2–3).

How reconciliation works. A conciliator (uzlaştırmacı) from the reconciliation office puts the offer to both sides; a party who does not answer within 7 days is deemed to refuse (CMK art. 253/4). Nothing said in the talks can be used as evidence (art. 253/20). If a party cannot be reached at the address on file, for example because they are abroad, the investigation goes on without reconciliation (art. 253/6). If the suspect performs the settlement at once, the prosecutor decides not to prosecute or the court dismisses the case; deferred performance suspends the proceedings (art. 253/19, 254/2). After a settlement, no compensation claim can be brought for the offence, except for loss that could not be identified at the time or arose later (art. 253/19).

HAGB, suspended sentences and the criminal record

Deferral of the announcement of the verdict (hükmün açıklanmasının geri bırakılması, HAGB) has had a new text since 31 July 2026 (Law No. 7589; CMK art. 231/5–14). It is possible where the sentence is two years’ imprisonment or less, or a judicial fine, the defendant has no previous conviction for an intentional offence, the court is satisfied from their character and conduct that they will not reoffend, and the victim’s or the public’s loss is made good in full, if necessary by monthly payments during supervision (art. 231/5–6, 231/9). Supervision lasts five years. If no new intentional offence is committed and the obligations are met, the case is dismissed; otherwise the verdict is announced (art. 231/8, 231/10–11). An istinaf appeal lies against the decision (art. 231/12). HAGB is excluded for torture, torment and ill-treatment by public officials (art. 231/14). Art. 231 no longer lists the defendant’s consent as a condition; consent still applies to decisions given before 1 June 2024 (CMK provisional art. 6/2(d)). How the new text applies to cases pending on 31 July 2026 is not settled.

The criminal record (adli sicil) is given, for a stated purpose, to the person, to their lawyer if the power of attorney says so expressly, and to public bodies; abroad, Turkish consulates issue it (Criminal Records Law art. 7, 8). Once the sentence has been served, the conviction moves to the archive (arşiv kaydı), which is deleted five years later, or after 15 or 30 years for convictions that bar certain rights (art. 9/1, 12/1).

Serving a sentence (infaz)

A prisoner whose conduct is good may be released on licence (koşullu salıverilme) after serving (Law No. 5275, art. 107/1–2, 108):

The enforcement judge (infaz hâkimi) decides on the prison’s report (art. 107/11). A prisoner with good conduct in an open prison who has one year or less until conditional release may ask to serve that time on probation (denetimli serbestlik) (art. 105/A/1). Provisional articles 6, 9, 10 and 11 of Law 5275 change these ratios and periods according to the date of the offence, so this page does not compute release dates.

Victims and complainants

• Complaint. To the prosecutor’s office or the police, in writing or orally; for an offence committed abroad that must be prosecuted in Türkiye, also at a Turkish embassy or consulate (CMK art. 158). The period is six months from learning of the act and the perpetrator; for insult, never more than two years from the act (TCK art. 73/1–2).
• Rights. To ask for evidence to be collected, obtain copies, be told of hearings and join the case as an intervening party (katılan) until the first-instance judgment, with an independent right of appeal (CMK art. 234, 237, 242).
• A lawyer from the bar. On request, for sexual assault, child sexual abuse, persistent stalking, intentional injury, torture or torment against a woman, and offences with a minimum penalty of more than five years; without a request, for a victim under 18 (art. 234/1–2).
• Decision not to prosecute. The victim may object within two weeks of service to the criminal judge of peace, setting out the facts and evidence (art. 173/1–2).

For protection orders, see family law.

If you live abroad

• Absent accused. An accused abroad who cannot be brought before the court is treated as absent (gaip): no trial hearing is held, and the court may promise in writing that they will not be detained if they attend (CMK art. 244, 246). They may be questioned through a letter of request, except for offences with a minimum penalty of five years or more (art. 196/2, 196/6).
• Fugitives. A person who stays abroad so that the proceedings fail is a fugitive (kaçak). Since 31 July 2026, a fugitive cannot be convicted without having been questioned, but property in Türkiye may be seized for listed offences such as theft, fraud and drug trafficking (art. 247–248).
• Residence and representation. A criminal case can affect a foreigner’s residence. A lawyer can act for you on a power of attorney given in the UK.

Deadlines in one place

An appeal is lodged at the court that gave the judgment; a temyiz appeal must state its reasons (CMK art. 273/1, 294/1). Some judgments cannot go to istinaf, and many regional-court decisions cannot go on to the Court of Cassation (art. 272/3, 286/2).

A worked example (hypothetical). The reasoned judgment is served on Wednesday 4 November 2026. The two-week period ends at the close of working hours on Wednesday 18 November 2026 (CMK art. 39/2, 273/1). Had that day been a public holiday, the period would have ended on the day after the holiday (art. 39/4).

Mistakes that cost suspects and victims their options

• Treating a police statement as harmless. Once confirmed before a judge or court, a statement given without a lawyer can ground a judgment (CMK art. 148/4).
• Counting from the wrong day. An objection to detention runs from learning of the decision; an appeal runs from service of the reasoned judgment (art. 268/1, 273/1).
• Learning the offender’s identity too late for an insult complaint. The complaint period never goes beyond two years from the act (TCK art. 73/2).
• Leaving the loss unpaid. Full compensation is a condition of HAGB and of deferral of prosecution, and it reduces the penalty for theft and fraud (CMK art. 171/3, 231/6; TCK art. 168).
• Reporting an online fraud late. A bank can suspend the receiving account for at most 48 hours (CMK art. 128/A).

Documents to prepare

• Any summons (çağrı kâğıdı), custody record, statement record (ifade tutanağı), search record, the indictment (iddianame) and every decision, with its date of service.
• Passport or identity card; for foreigners, the residence permit and entry records.
• For an objection to detention: proof of address, work and family ties.
• For victims: medical reports, photographs, messages, bank transfer records, witness details and proof of loss.
• For a compensation claim: the final decision, its service record and documents showing the loss (CMK art. 142/3).
• A power of attorney for a lawyer, although a suspect can consult one without it (CMK art. 154/1).