Capital punishment in Turkey
Encyclopedia
As of 2004, Turkey
does not have capital punishment. Since October 1984, Turkey has not executed any prisoners. Prior to that date executions would usually happen after military interventions. Adnan Menderes
, who served as Prime Minister was hanged on 17 September 1961 following the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet members, Fatin Rüştü Zorlu
and Hasan Polatkan
. The student leaders Deniz Gezmiş
, Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan were hanged on 6 May 1972 after the 1971 coup d'état. After the 1980 coup d'état, between 1980 and 1984 a total of 50 men including 27 political men but not women were executed in Turkey.
By Law 4771 of 9 August 2002 (the 3rd Package for Harmonization with the European Union
) the death penalty was abolished for peace time offences. Law 5218 of 14 July 2004 abolished the death penalty for all times. Turkey ratified
Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights in February 2006.
The death sentence was replaced by aggravated life imprisonment (ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis cezası). According to Article 9 of Law 5275 on the Execution of Sentences these prisoners are held in individual cells
in high security prisons
and are allowed to exercise in a neighbouring yard one hour per day. They are kept in solitary confinement in individual cells.
Twenty-four articles of the 1926 Turkish Penal Code (Law 765) provided for a mandatory death penalty, 19 of them for crimes against the state, the government, the Constitution
and military, and a further ten for common criminal offences such as murder
and rape. These 24 articles defined a total of 29 offences.
Under Article 12 of Law 765 death sentences were to be carried out by hanging after being approved by act of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, the TBMM. Within the TBMM they were reviewed by the Judicial Committee before being voted on by parliament as a whole. This decision had to be ratified by the President, who had the power to commute death sentences on grounds of age or ill-health.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
does not have capital punishment. Since October 1984, Turkey has not executed any prisoners. Prior to that date executions would usually happen after military interventions. Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
, who served as Prime Minister was hanged on 17 September 1961 following the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet members, Fatin Rüştü Zorlu
Fatin Rüstü Zorlu
Fatin Rüştü Zorlu was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other politicians.-Biography:...
and Hasan Polatkan
Hasan Polatkan
Hasan Polatkan was a Turkish politician and Minister of Labor and Finance, who was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other cabinet members.-Biography:...
. The student leaders Deniz Gezmiş
Deniz Gezmis
Deniz Gezmiş was a Turkish Marxist-Leninist revolutionary and political activist in the Turkey in the late 1960s...
, Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan were hanged on 6 May 1972 after the 1971 coup d'état. After the 1980 coup d'état, between 1980 and 1984 a total of 50 men including 27 political men but not women were executed in Turkey.
By Law 4771 of 9 August 2002 (the 3rd Package for Harmonization with the European Union
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
) the death penalty was abolished for peace time offences. Law 5218 of 14 July 2004 abolished the death penalty for all times. Turkey ratified
Ratification
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutionals in federations such as the United States and Canada.- Private law :In contract law, the...
Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights in February 2006.
The death sentence was replaced by aggravated life imprisonment (ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis cezası). According to Article 9 of Law 5275 on the Execution of Sentences these prisoners are held in individual cells
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
in high security prisons
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
and are allowed to exercise in a neighbouring yard one hour per day. They are kept in solitary confinement in individual cells.
Twenty-four articles of the 1926 Turkish Penal Code (Law 765) provided for a mandatory death penalty, 19 of them for crimes against the state, the government, the Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
and military, and a further ten for common criminal offences such as murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and rape. These 24 articles defined a total of 29 offences.
Under Article 12 of Law 765 death sentences were to be carried out by hanging after being approved by act of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, the TBMM. Within the TBMM they were reviewed by the Judicial Committee before being voted on by parliament as a whole. This decision had to be ratified by the President, who had the power to commute death sentences on grounds of age or ill-health.
External links
- Background to Amnesty International's campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in Turkey February 1990, (pages provided as images, readable if enlarged)