Criminal Law and Criminal Defense in Türkiye

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Criminal Law Topics

You can find detailed information and attorney support on the following criminal law topics.

HAGB (Deferment of the Announcement of the Verdict)

Conditions, the supervision period, the effect on your criminal record and the new rules introduced in 2024. A full guide.

• What Is HAGB? Updated 2025 Guide (in Turkish)
• Criminal Lawyer in Yalova (in Turkish)

Cybercrime

Unauthorized access to information systems, data theft, online fraud and violations of personal data.

• Cybercrimes and Their Penalties (in Turkish)
• HAGB

Fraud

Aggravated fraud, phone fraud and credit card offenses.

• HAGB
• Criminal Lawyer in Yalova

Violent Offenses

Intentional injury, threats, insult and other offenses against the person.

• Restraining Orders (in Turkish)
• HAGB

Privacy of Private Life

Violations of personal data, violation of the privacy of private life and breach of the confidentiality of communications.

• Cybercrimes
• HAGB

Traffic Offenses

Death or injury resulting from a traffic accident, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

• Vehicle Diminished Value Claims (in Turkish)
• HAGB

Property Offenses

Theft, robbery, damage to property and breach of trust.

• HAGB
• Criminal Lawyer in Yalova

Appeals and Legal Remedies

Challenging a criminal judgment: filing an appeal with the Regional Court of Appeal (istinaf), the time-preserving petition (süre tutum), the reasoned appeal petition and the sentence execution process.

• Guide to the Regional Appeal Procedure (İstinaf) (in Turkish)
• Sample Criminal Appeal Petition (in Turkish)
• Appealing an Acquittal (in Turkish)
• Sentence Execution (Time to Serve) Calculator (in Turkish)

Your Rights in a Criminal Case

Right to Remain Silent

Your right not to give a statement and to request a lawyer is guaranteed by the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK).

Right to a Lawyer

You have the right to the assistance of a lawyer at every stage of the investigation and the prosecution.

Right to Examine the Evidence

You have the right to examine all evidence in the case file and to present a defense against it.

Why Work with a Criminal Defense Lawyer?

An Effective Defense

Criminal cases directly affect your liberty. A professionally prepared defense strategy has a significant bearing on whether an acquittal or a reduced sentence can be obtained.

Knowledge of Procedure

The complex rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be used to your advantage by a lawyer.

Evaluating the Evidence

Identifying unlawfully obtained evidence and objecting to it can change the course of a case.

Negotiation and Reconciliation

For offenses subject to reconciliation (uzlaştırma), and when requesting HAGB (deferment of the announcement of the verdict), attorney support is critical.

Criminal Law Advice

Seek support from a criminal defense lawyer during the investigation or prosecution stage. Do not lose time when it comes to protecting your rights.

Book an online appointment (in Turkish)

Our Criminal Law Articles

How Are Multiple Sentences Aggregated? Aggregation Orders, the Upper Limit and Conditional Release

How several prison sentences are combined, in which order the conditional release (parole) calculation is made when sentences are aggregated, and what the 28-year upper limit means. Based on the wording of Articles 99, 107 and 108 of Law No. 5275 and Court of Cassation decisions from 2025 and 2026.

Read the article (in Turkish)

What Happens If a Judicial Fine Is Not Paid? Installments, Conversion to Imprisonment and Objections

Covers how a judicial fine is calculated under the day-fine system, the period that starts with service of the payment order, the two separate installment routes under Article 52/4 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and Article 106 of Law No. 5275, conversion to community service and then to imprisonment where the fine goes unpaid, and applications to the execution judge.

Read the article (in Turkish)

Violation of Supervised Release: What Happens, and How Is the Decision Revoked?

In which cases supervised release (probation) is revoked, who makes the decision, what the two-day rule after a return order means, and how to object. Based on the wording of Article 105/A of Law No. 5275 and Court of Cassation decisions.

Read the article (in Turkish)

Petition Requesting a Sentence Calculation Notice (Müddetname): When Is It Prepared and How Is It Requested?

Who issues the sentence calculation notice (müddetname), when it is prepared and how it is requested. The legal basis of the document, the periods that start with its service, the situations that require a new notice, and the ways to apply to the execution judge.

Read the article (in Turkish)

Reconciliation in Criminal Cases (CMK Art. 253): Offenses Subject to Reconciliation and the 2026 Scope

For offenses within the scope of reconciliation, no case is filed at all, or a case already filed is dismissed. The current catalogue of offenses under Articles 253 to 255 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK), the seven-day response period, the move of the insult offense to prepayment (önödeme), and how reconciliation differs from HAGB.

Read the article (in Turkish)

Criminal Law Case Law

Does the Rule That No Limitation Period Runs for Torture Apply to Acts Committed Before 2013?

The 8th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation affirmed the dismissal decision issued in a case brought over a torture offense allegedly committed in 1999; the outcome favored the defendants and went against the intervening parties. At the center of the dispute is the rule added in 2013 to the torture article of the Turkish Penal Code, under which no limitation period runs for this offense. The Chamber recalled that, by its consequences, the limitation period for prosecution belongs to substantive criminal law, and that under Article 38 of the Constitution and Articles 2 and 7 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), a limitation rule that entered into force after the date of the offense and produces results against the defendant cannot be applied. Accordingly, the provision introduced by Article 9 of Law No. 6459, under which the limitation period does not run, applies only to offenses committed after its entry into force and has no retroactive effect. In the specific case, Article 243 of the former Turkish Penal Code No. 765, which was in force on the date of the offense, was accepted as the more favorable law; since both the basic ten-year and the extended fifteen-year limitation periods for this provision, which carried up to eight years of heavy imprisonment, had expired, the dismissal decision was found to be in accordance with procedure and law. The Chamber also rejected the requests of certain intervening parties, noting that they had missed the one-week appeal period and had no right of appeal regarding offenses by which they were not harmed. It reversed the conviction for forgery of official documents, however, for incomplete examination, because the related criminal files had not been joined or obtained. The decision was unanimous.

Read the decision (in Turkish)

In Sexual Offenses, Is the Victim's Statement Alone Enough for a Conviction?

This precedent is the decision of the General Assembly of Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation (Case No. 2023/468, Decision No. 2026/47, 21 January 2026) on the criteria under which a victim's statement alone may form the basis of a conviction for the sexual abuse of a child. The defendant, a stepfather, was tried on allegations of long-term sexual abuse of the defendant's two stepdaughters; since there was no direct physical evidence for the earlier events, the case rested largely on the victim's own statement. The trial court convicted. On first review, the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation reversed on the ground that the evidence was insufficient, and when the trial court insisted on its judgment, the file was taken to the General Assembly of Criminal Chambers. Recalling the principle that doubt benefits the defendant, the Assembly held that, taken together, the consistency of the victim's statement, its support by the report of the Child Monitoring Center and the opinion of the social worker, the fact that the late complaint could be explained by threats, and the contradiction in the defendant's defense removed that doubt, and it found the reasoning of the insistence decision correct. This decision went against the defendant; the conviction was affirmed. The fact that six members dissented in favor of acquittal shows how contested the issue was. The decision is instructive in showing which concrete elements the evaluation of evidence rests on in sexual offense cases, and it also summarizes the procedural path the file followed.

Read the decision (in Turkish)

Can a Convict Deemed a Second-Time Repeat Offender in a Sexual Offense Benefit from Conditional Release?

This decision of the 9th Criminal Chamber shows, through a concrete file, that applying the recidivism (repeat offender) provisions a second time in sexual offenses removes conditional release entirely. In the Regional Court of Appeal's judgment convicting the defendant of attempted aggravated sexual assault, an earlier conviction on the defendant's criminal record should have been treated as "second-time recidivism", but this point was overlooked. On the appeal of the public prosecutor at the regional court, which pointed out this omission, the Court of Cassation affirmed the judgment with correction. The result of the correction goes against the defendant: the sentence will now be served under the execution regime specific to second-time repeat offenders, meaning in full in a penal institution without conditional release, and a supervised release measure will be applied after execution. The decision also shows that the Court of Cassation can remedy such execution-related omissions ex officio, using its statutory power of correction, without sending the file back for retrial. In a different file of the same Chamber discussed in the analysis, by contrast, the recidivism provision was removed, because the date on which the earlier conviction became final fell after the date of the new offense. Taken together, the two decisions show concretely how recidivism aggravates the execution of sentences in sexual offenses and under which condition it cannot be applied at all. The outcome is against the defendant; the conviction stands unchanged, while the execution regime has been made more severe.

Read the decision (in Turkish)

Related Legal Resources

• Insult Offense and Its Penalty (TCK Art. 125) (in Turkish): sentence ranges, the three-person requirement for insult in absentia, the limits of criticism and mutual insult. 10-minute read.
• Threat Offense and Its Penalty (TCK Art. 106) (in Turkish): three sentencing bands, 2 to 5 years for threats with a weapon, the minimum sentence for threats against women, complaint and reconciliation. 11-minute read.
• Sexual Harassment Offense (TCK Art. 105) (in Turkish): elements of the offense, the complaint period and the trial procedure. 7-minute read.
• Aggravated Fraud under TCK Art. 158 (in Turkish): elements of the offense, the IBAN rule in Art. 158/4, effective remorse and defense. 12-minute read.
• The 12th Judicial Package (Law No. 7589) (in Turkish): changes to TCK Art. 158, HAGB and procedure, and the current state of the law in force. 9-minute read.
• HAGB Conditions 2026: deferment of the announcement of the verdict, current conditions and the latest developments. 10-minute read.

See all practice areas and resources (in Turkish)