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 the offences listed in art. 100/3, such as intentional killing, theft, drug manufacture and trade, child sexual abuse and some forms of intentional injury, a ground for detention may be presumed where concrete evidence gives strong suspicion; several of them appear under common offences below.

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 trial (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). Drug manufacture and trade, sexual assault by penetration and child sexual abuse, for example, are tried by the heavy penal court; fraud, theft, insult, threat and most injury cases by the asliye ceza court (see common offences). Qualified fraud (TCK art. 158) was among the offences reserved to the heavy penal court whatever the penalty; Law 7571 removed it from that list on 25 December 2025. Cases pending before the heavy penal court, or on appeal, on that date continue under the old rules (art. 12, provisional art. 7).

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). The court is decided by the maximum penalty the law sets for the offence, without aggravating or mitigating circumstances (Law 5235 art. 14): the heavy penal court hears offences punishable by (aggravated) life imprisonment or by more than 10 years’ imprisonment, and the asliye ceza court hears the rest (art. 11–12). The table gives the basic forms and the qualified forms most often charged; the sections below it give the detail for each offence.

Fraud

• Article and penalty. TCK art. 157: a person who deceives another by fraudulent conduct and so obtains a benefit for themselves or another, to the other’s loss, faces one to five years’ imprisonment and a judicial fine of up to 5,000 days. Art. 158 lists the qualified forms, among them using IT systems, banks or credit institutions as a tool (para. 1(f)) and posing as a public official or as an employee of a bank, insurer or credit institution (para. 1(l)). The penalty is three to ten years’ imprisonment, and at least four years under paras (e), (f), (j), (k) and (l). It is increased by half where three or more people act together, and doubled where an organisation’s activity is involved (art. 158/3). Fraud committed to collect a debt that rests on a legal relationship carries, on complaint, six months to one year or a judicial fine (art. 159).
• Complaint. Art. 157 and 158 are prosecuted whether or not the victim complains; art. 159 only on complaint (six months: TCK art. 73).
• Reconciliation. Art. 157, and art. 159 because it is complaint-based, are covered (CMK art. 253/1); art. 158 is not.
• Court. With maximum penalties of five and ten years, art. 157 and 158/1 go to the asliye ceza court. Qualified fraud used to be among the offences reserved to the heavy penal court whatever the penalty; Law 7571 removed art. 158 from that list on 25 December 2025. Cases pending before the heavy penal court, or on appeal, on that date continue under the old rules without being sent elsewhere because of the change (Law 5235 art. 12, provisional art. 7). How the court is determined where the increases in art. 158/3 apply is a matter for case law and is not examined here.
• Suspension of an account. Since 25 December 2025, where there is reasonable suspicion of qualified fraud under art. 158/1(f) or (l), of qualified theft through IT systems or of misuse of bank or credit cards, a bank, payment service provider or crypto-asset service provider may suspend the account used in the offence for up to 48 hours. It must report this at once to the public prosecutor’s office and to the account holder; the holder may ask the prosecutor to lift the suspension, and the prosecutor decides within 24 hours. Money found to belong to the victim is returned (CMK art. 128/A).
• Reductions. If the offender fully repays the victim’s loss, effective repentance (etkin pişmanlık) cuts the penalty by up to two thirds before the prosecution starts, and by up to half after it starts and before judgment (TCK art. 168/1–2). Since 31 July 2026, a person whose part in the fraud was limited to handing over their own or another’s bank or credit card or the information needed to use an account has the penalty halved (art. 158/4).
• If you live abroad. An offence is treated as committed in Türkiye if any part of the act took place there or its result occurred there (TCK art. 8/1). If a party cannot be reached, for example because they are abroad, the investigation goes on without reconciliation (CMK art. 253/6).

Drug offences

• Three separate offences. TCK art. 188: manufacturing, importing or exporting drugs without a licence carries 20 to 30 years’ imprisonment; selling, offering for sale, supplying, transporting, storing, buying, accepting or possessing them within the country carries at least 10 years, and at least 15 where the drug is given or sold to a child. Art. 190: facilitating drug use (for example by providing a place, equipment or information on how to use) or publicly encouraging it carries five to ten years. Art. 191: buying, accepting or possessing a drug for personal use, or using one, carries two to five years. Which article applies, in particular whether the drug was held for personal use, is for the court to decide from the circumstances.
• Aggravating factors. The penalty is increased where the substance is one of those listed, such as heroin, cocaine or synthetic cannabinoids, where the act takes place in public places within 200 metres of schools, dormitories, hospitals, barracks or places of worship, and where three or more people act together (art. 188/4–5, 191/10).
• Complaint and reconciliation. Drug offences are prosecuted without a complaint and are not listed for reconciliation (CMK art. 253).
• Court. Art. 188/3 sets a minimum of 10 years; as a fixed-term sentence cannot exceed 20 years unless the law says otherwise (TCK art. 49/1), the maximum is above 10 and the heavy penal court hears it. Art. 190 and 191 have maximums of 10 and five years and go to the asliye ceza court.
• The special procedure for users (art. 191). In the investigation the prosecutor defers the public prosecution for five years; during that time the suspect is placed under probation for at least one year and, if needed, treated. The prosecutor refers the suspect to the competent institution at least twice a year to check for drug use. If the obligations are met, a decision not to prosecute follows; persistent breach, buying drugs again for use or using them leads to a prosecution (art. 191/2–7). A user who asks for treatment from the authorities or a health institution before an investigation starts is not punished (art. 192/4). If, in a trial for art. 188 or 190, the conduct turns out to concern only personal use, the court applies HAGB under art. 191 (art. 191/8).
• Detention and enforcement. Art. 188 is among the offences for which a ground for detention may be presumed (CMK art. 100/3). Adults serve three quarters of the sentence before conditional release (Law 5275 art. 108/9).
• If you live abroad. Turkish law applies to the offences in art. 188 and 190 whoever commits them and wherever, and prosecution in Türkiye depends on a request from the Minister of Justice (TCK art. 13/1(e), 13/2). If a foreign state treats an export from Türkiye as an import and tries it, the part of that sentence already served is deducted from the Turkish sentence (art. 188/2).

Insult and threat

• Insult (TCK art. 125). Attacking a person’s honour, dignity or standing by attributing a concrete act or fact that may offend them, or by swearing at them, carries three months to two years’ imprisonment or a judicial fine. Where the victim is absent, the act is punishable only if committed in contact with at least three people. Insult by a message addressed to the victim, whether spoken, written or visual, carries the same penalty (art. 125/2). The minimum is one year where the insult targets a public official because of their duty, a person’s beliefs or opinions, or values held sacred by their religion (art. 125/3), and the penalty rises by one sixth where it is public (art. 125/4). If the act attributed is a crime and is proved, no penalty follows; whether proof is admitted depends on public interest or the complainant’s consent (art. 127).
• Threat (art. 106). Threatening someone with an attack on their own or a relative’s life, bodily or sexual integrity carries six months to two years’ imprisonment, with a minimum of nine months where the victim is a woman. Threatening serious harm to property or some other harm carries, on the victim’s complaint, two to six months or a judicial fine. A threat made with a weapon, while disguised, by an unsigned letter or special signs, by several people together, or by exploiting the fear a criminal organisation inspires carries two to seven years (art. 106/2).
• Complaint. Insult is prosecuted only on complaint, except where aimed at a public official because of their duty (art. 131/1). The period is six months, and for insult never more than two years from the act (TCK art. 73/1–2). If the victim dies before complaining, their parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, spouse or siblings may complain (art. 131/2). A threat against life, body or sexual integrity and an aggravated threat are prosecuted without a complaint; a threat of harm to property or of another harm needs one. Withdrawing a complaint ends the case against a defendant who accepts the withdrawal (art. 73/4–6).
• Reconciliation. Insult has been excluded entirely since 25 December 2025 (CMK art. 253/3); files in which a settlement had been reached by that date continue under the earlier rules (CMK provisional art. 8). A threat under art. 106/1 is covered; an aggravated threat (art. 106/2) is not (art. 253/1(b)).
• Court. With maximums of two and seven years, the asliye ceza court hears both.
• If you live abroad. An insulting or threatening message sent from abroad is treated as an offence committed in Türkiye where its result occurs there (TCK art. 8/1). The two-year limit for insult applies even if the offender’s identity became known late. For a person facing or at risk of violence, a judge can order the violent person not to use threatening or insulting words or conduct (Law 6284 art. 5/1(a); see family law).

Intentional injury

• Article and penalty. TCK art. 86/1: intentionally causing another pain or impairing their health or perception carries one year six months to three years’ imprisonment. Where the effect is slight enough to be cured by simple medical treatment, the penalty on the victim’s complaint is six months to one year six months or a judicial fine, with a minimum of nine months where the victim is a woman (art. 86/2). If the offence is committed against an ascendant, descendant, spouse, former spouse or sibling, against a person unable to defend themselves, because of a public duty, with a weapon or with savagery, no complaint is needed and the penalty is increased (art. 86/3). Art. 87 applies where the injury causes permanent weakening, a permanent facial scar, danger to life, a broken bone or death; for death, the penalty is ten to fourteen years in the cases of art. 86/1 and fourteen to eighteen years in those of art. 86/3 (art. 87/4). These penalties were raised by Law 7550, in force since 4 June 2025.
• Complaint. Art. 86/1, 86/3 and 87 are prosecuted without a complaint; only the minor injury in art. 86/2 needs one.
• Reconciliation. Art. 86/1 and 86/2 are covered; art. 86/3 and 87 are not (CMK art. 253/1(b)).
• Court. The asliye ceza court hears art. 86. Under art. 87 the penalty is set by increases, so the court depends on the maximum in the case; an injury causing death (art. 87/4) goes to the heavy penal court.
• Detention and the victim. Intentional injury of a woman, the cases in art. 86/3(b), (e) and (f), and art. 87 are among the offences for which a ground for detention may be presumed (CMK art. 100/3). A woman who is the victim of intentional injury can ask the bar to appoint a lawyer for her if she has none (art. 234/1).
• Degree of injury. The court decides which paragraph an injury falls under from the medical report and the other evidence.

Sexual offences

These offences are in TCK art. 102–105 under the heading “offences against sexual integrity”. None can be reconciled, including those prosecuted only on complaint (CMK art. 253/3).

• Qualified forms. The penalty is increased where the offence is committed with a weapon or by several people together, by abusing authority or against a close relative, among other cases (art. 102/3, 103/3, 105/2). Whether the increase affects which court hears the case is a matter for case law and is not examined here.
• The victim’s rights. A victim of sexual assault or child sexual abuse can ask the bar to appoint a lawyer if they have none; for a victim under 18 one is appointed without a request (CMK art. 234). 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 (art. 236/2–3). For offences prosecuted on complaint the period is six months (TCK art. 73).
• Detention and enforcement. Art. 102 (except the first paragraph) and art. 103 are among the offences for which a ground for detention may be presumed (CMK art. 100/3). For the release ratios, see serving a sentence.
• If you live abroad. Where the minimum penalty is five years or more, as in the first two paragraphs of art. 102 and the basic form of art. 103, the accused cannot be questioned through a letter of request (istinabe) (CMK art. 196/2). For an offence committed abroad that must be prosecuted in Türkiye, the complaint can also be made at a Turkish embassy or consulate (art. 158/3).

Theft

• Article and penalty. TCK art. 141: taking another’s movable property from where it is, without the possessor’s consent, to benefit oneself or another carries one to three years’ imprisonment. Art. 142 lists the qualified forms: property in public bodies or places of worship, on public transport, or left in the open by custom or use, among others, carries three to seven years (142/1); property of a person unable to protect it, snatching from a person’s hands or clothing, picking locks, use of IT systems, taking measures to avoid recognition or posing as an official, or property in a protected place, among others, carries five to ten years (142/2); theft at energy facilities carries five to twelve years (142/3). Theft at night increases the penalty by half (art. 143). Theft of property owned jointly, or to collect a debt that rests on a legal relationship, carries on complaint two months to one year or a judicial fine (art. 144). The low value of the property, or a serious and urgent need, can lead to a reduction or to no penalty (art. 145, 147).
• Complaint. Art. 141 and 142 are prosecuted without a complaint; art. 144 needs one. Breaking into a home or damaging property in order to steal is also prosecuted without a complaint (art. 142/4).
• Reconciliation. Art. 141, and art. 144 because it is complaint-based, are covered; art. 142 is not (CMK art. 253/1).
• Court. The asliye ceza court hears art. 141, 142/1–2 and 144; the heavy penal court hears art. 142/3, whose maximum is twelve years.
• Detention and reductions. Art. 141 and 142 are among the offences for which a ground for detention may be presumed (CMK art. 100/3). Effective repentance applies if the offender repairs the loss in full (TCK art. 168). Where IT systems are used, the account can be suspended (CMK art. 128/A; see fraud).
• If you live abroad. The property in Türkiye of a fugitive abroad can be seized for offences including theft (CMK art. 248); see “If you live abroad” below.

IT offences

• Article and penalty. TCK art. 243: unlawfully entering a computer system, or staying in it, carries up to one year’s imprisonment or a judicial fine; where data is lost or altered as a result, six months to two years; monitoring data transfers within a system by technical means, without entering it, carries one to three years. Art. 244: obstructing or disrupting a system carries one to five years; corrupting, destroying, altering or blocking access to data carries six months to three years, increased by half where the system belongs to a bank, a credit institution or a public body. Art. 245: using another person’s bank or credit card without the holder’s consent to obtain a benefit carries three to six years’ imprisonment and a judicial fine of up to 5,000 days; making or selling counterfeit cards carries three to seven years, and using one four to eight. Art. 245/A: making, holding or selling a device, program, password or security code designed to commit these offences carries one to three years. Fraud using IT systems as a tool is separately covered by art. 158/1(f) (see fraud).
• Complaint and reconciliation. These offences are prosecuted without a complaint and are not listed for reconciliation. No penalty is imposed for misuse of a card to the loss of the holder’s spouse, ascendant, descendant or sibling living in the same home, among other relatives (art. 245/4).
• Court. The highest maximum is eight years, so the asliye ceza court hears them.
• Account suspension and reductions. Where there is reasonable suspicion of misuse of bank or credit cards (art. 245), the account used in the offence can be suspended for up to 48 hours (CMK art. 128/A). The effective repentance rules for offences against property apply to the acts in art. 245/1 (art. 245/5).
• If you live abroad. The offender’s being abroad does not take the offence outside Turkish jurisdiction if any part of the act took place in Türkiye or its result occurred there (TCK art. 8/1).

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)

Time spent in custody, in detention or otherwise deprived of liberty before the judgment becomes final is deducted from the prison sentence (TCK art. 63). 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); to qualify, the prisoner must have spent in prison at least one tenth of the time required before conditional release, and in any case at least five days (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. For the calculation, see the sentence enforcement calculator.

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

• Offences committed abroad. An offence is treated as committed in Türkiye if any part of the act took place there or its result occurred there (TCK art. 8/1). A Turkish citizen who commits abroad an offence with a minimum penalty of at least one year under Turkish law, is in Türkiye and has not been convicted abroad for it is punished under Turkish law. Where the minimum is below one year, prosecution depends on the complaint of the injured person or of a foreign government, made within six months of the citizen’s entry into Türkiye (art. 11). Foreigners are subject to the separate conditions in art. 12. For drug manufacture and trade and for facilitating drug use, Turkish law applies whoever commits the offence and wherever, and prosecution depends on a request from the Minister of Justice (art. 13/1(e), 13/2).
• 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).