This guide follows the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure through the first hours and days: how long police custody may last, the right to stay silent and to see a lawyer, the interpreter, who tells the family and the German consulate, how a judge decides between remand and judicial control, and how a remand order is challenged.
A couple from Munich hire a car in Antalya and hit a motorcyclist at a junction. A student from Cologne is taken to a police station after a fight outside a bar in Bodrum. A German-Turkish entrepreneur from Frankfurt lands in Istanbul and learns at the passport desk that a former business partner has filed a fraud complaint against him and that a warrant is outstanding. A bag in a holiday flat in Marmaris turns out to contain cannabis. In each case the family in Germany learns of it from a short phone call, often late at night, and has the same questions: how long can he be held, can he speak to a lawyer, does the consulate know, and what happens at the hearing.
This guide answers those questions from the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 5271, CMK). It covers offences of the everyday kind: traffic accidents, fights, fraud complaints and drugs. It does not deal with political cases, and whether a foreign national may stay in Türkiye after a criminal case is a separate administrative matter that is not the subject of this guide. The general structure of Turkish criminal procedure, from investigation to appeal, is set out in our guide to the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure; this page follows a German national through the first hours and days.
Arrest and police custody: the clock in the first hours
Turkish law separates three steps that a family on the phone often hears as one: arrest (yakalama), police custody (gözaltı) and remand in detention (tutuklama). Arrest is the moment the person is stopped and held. Anyone may temporarily arrest a person caught in the act, and the police may arrest where a remand order or an arrest warrant would be required, delay would be harmful and the prosecutor or their superiors cannot be reached at once (CMK Article 90(1) and (2)). Once the police have taken the measures needed to prevent escape or harm, they must tell the person arrested of his legal rights at once (Article 90(4)), and they must inform the public prosecutor straight away and act on his instructions (Article 90(5)).
If the prosecutor does not release the person, he may order police custody so that the investigation can be completed (CMK Article 91(1)). Custody is allowed only where it is necessary for the investigation and there is concrete evidence pointing to a suspicion that the person committed an offence (Article 91(2)). The periods are short and fixed by the Code:
- Twenty-four hours from the moment of arrest, not counting the time needed to bring the person to the nearest judge or court, which itself may not exceed twelve hours (Article 91(1)).
- For offences committed collectively, where evidence is hard to gather or there are many suspects, the prosecutor may extend custody by written order, each time by no more than one day, for up to three days (Article 91(3)).
- For a list of offences caught in the act, police chiefs designated by the provincial authorities may themselves order custody of up to twenty-four hours, and up to forty-eight hours in the circumstances the paragraph describes; the person must then be brought before a judge within forty-eight hours at the latest, or four days for collective offences (Article 91(4)). The list includes causing death by negligence, intentional injury, drug manufacture and trafficking, and the smuggling offences of Law No. 5607.
When these periods end, a person who has not been released is brought before the criminal judge of peace (sulh ceza hâkimi) and questioned, and his lawyer is present at that questioning (CMK Article 91(7)). During custody the person himself, his lawyer, his spouse or a first or second degree blood relative may apply to the criminal judge of peace against the arrest, the custody order or its extension; the judge decides on the papers, without delay and within twenty-four hours at the latest (Article 91(5)).
Silence, a lawyer and an interpreter
Before a suspect’s statement is taken, the Code requires a set of steps (CMK Article 147(1)). His identity is established, and he must answer questions about his identity truthfully (Article 147(1)(a)). The offence he is accused of is explained to him (Article 147(1)(b)). He is told that he may choose a lawyer, that the lawyer may be present during the statement, and that if he cannot choose one and wants a lawyer, the bar association will appoint one (Article 147(1)(c)). He is told that he has the legal right not to make a statement about the accusation (Article 147(1)(e)), and that he may ask for concrete evidence to be gathered in his favour (Article 147(1)(f)).
The lawyer’s role is protected in several places:
- A suspect may have the help of one or more lawyers at every stage of the investigation and trial (CMK Article 149(1)); during the investigation, at most three lawyers may attend a statement (Article 149(2)).
- The lawyer’s right to meet the suspect, to be with him during a statement or questioning and to give legal assistance may not be prevented or restricted (Article 149(3)).
- A suspect may meet his lawyer at any time, without a power of attorney being required, where others cannot hear the conversation, and their correspondence is not monitored (Article 154(1)). For a list of offences that includes organised drug trafficking, a judge may restrict this for twenty-four hours, and no statement may be taken during that time (Article 154(2)).
- A lawyer is appointed without any request in investigations for offences carrying a minimum prison sentence of more than five years (Article 150(3), applying Article 150(2)).
- The lawyer may examine the investigation file and take copies free of charge (Article 153(1)); for certain offences, including drug trafficking and the smuggling offences of Law No. 5607, a judge may, on the prosecutor’s request, restrict that access where it could endanger the purpose of the investigation, but never for the record of the suspect’s own statement or for expert reports (Article 153(2) and (3)).
For a German national, the interpreter is often the first practical issue. If the suspect does not know Turkish well enough to express himself, the essential points are translated by an interpreter, and during the investigation the interpreter is appointed by the judge or the public prosecutor (CMK Article 202(1) and (3)). Whether to give a statement at all, and what to say, is a decision to take with the lawyer after the file has been seen.
Who is told: the family and the German consulate
Two separate rules require notice. When a suspect is arrested, taken into custody or has his custody extended, a relative or a person he names is informed without delay on the prosecutor’s order (CMK Article 95(1)). When the person is a foreign national, the situation is reported to the consulate of the state of which he is a national, unless he objects in writing (Article 95(2)). The same two notices are repeated if a judge orders remand: a relative or a person he names is informed by the judge’s decision, and the consulate is informed unless he objects in writing (Article 107(1) and (3)).
The international rule is Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. According to the United Nations Treaty Collection, Germany ratified the Convention on 7 September 1971 and Türkiye acceded to it on 19 February 1976. Under Article 36(1)(b), if the national so requests, the authorities of the receiving state must inform the consular post without delay when he is arrested, committed to prison or custody pending trial, or detained in any other manner, and must tell him of this right without delay. Under Article 36(1)(c), consular officers have the right to visit him, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation, but they must refrain from acting on his behalf if he expressly opposes it.
The two texts start from opposite ends. The Convention speaks of notice if the national requests it; the Turkish Code requires notice unless he objects in writing. For a German national in custody in Türkiye, the result is that the consulate is told as a matter of course unless he signs an objection. The 1929 Consular Convention between Türkiye and Germany (Law No. 1634) contains no specific rule on arrests; its Article 15 authorises consuls to protect the interests of their nationals and to make representations to the local authorities against acts that infringe their rights.
The consulate is not defence counsel. It can visit, help the family with information and arrange contact with a lawyer, but it does not represent the suspect before the prosecutor or the judge. That is the role of the lawyer the suspect chooses or the bar association appoints.
Remand in detention or release
At the end of custody the prosecutor decides whether to release the suspect, to ask for judicial control, or to ask the criminal judge of peace to remand him. The test for remand is in CMK Article 100. There must be concrete evidence showing a strong suspicion that an offence was committed, and a ground for detention; remand may not be ordered where it would be disproportionate to the importance of the matter or to the expected sentence or security measure (Article 100(1)). A ground for detention may be assumed where concrete facts raise a suspicion that the suspect will flee, hide or abscond, or where his conduct creates a strong suspicion that he will destroy, conceal or alter evidence or put pressure on witnesses, victims or others (Article 100(2)). For a list of serious offences, including intentional killing, certain aggravated forms of intentional injury, drug manufacture and trafficking, and the offences in Articles 68 and 74 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Property, a ground for detention may be assumed where there is strong suspicion based on concrete evidence (Article 100(3)).
There is also a floor. For offences punishable only by a judicial fine, or by a maximum prison term of not more than two years, remand may not be ordered, except for intentional offences against bodily integrity (CMK Article 100(4)).
In the investigation phase the order is made by the criminal judge of peace on the prosecutor’s request (CMK Article 101(1)). The request must give reasons and must state the legal and factual reasons why judicial control would not be enough. The decision itself must show, with concrete facts, the strong suspicion, the ground for detention, the proportionality of detention and the inadequacy of judicial control (Article 101(2)). The suspect is assisted by the lawyer he chooses or one appointed by the bar (Article 101(3)). If remand is not ordered, he is released at once (Article 101(4)).
For a suspect who lives in Germany, the question under Article 100(2)(a) is whether there are concrete facts that raise a suspicion that he will flee or hide. The answer the Code itself offers, short of detention, is judicial control.
Judicial control instead of detention
Where a ground for detention exists, the judge may place the suspect under judicial control instead of remanding him (CMK Article 109(1)). Judicial control is a list of obligations, of which one or more may be imposed (Article 109(3)), including:
- not leaving the country (Article 109(3)(a));
- reporting regularly to the places the judge sets, within the periods the judge sets (Article 109(3)(b));
- not driving vehicles, or some of them, and handing in the driving licence against a receipt (Article 109(3)(d));
- depositing a security, the amount and payment terms of which are set by the judge on the prosecutor’s request in view of the suspect’s financial situation (Article 109(3)(f));
- providing security for the rights of the victim (Article 109(3)(h)).
Judicial control can be ordered at any stage of the investigation on the prosecutor’s request (CMK Article 110(1)), and the judge may later add, lift or change obligations (Article 110(2)). Whether it should continue is reviewed at intervals of four months at the latest (Article 110(4)). The suspect may ask for a change, and the judge may decide within five days (Article 111(1)); decisions on judicial control can be challenged by objection (Article 111(2)). A suspect who wilfully breaks a judicial control obligation can be remanded whatever the expected sentence (Article 112(1)).
For a German national, the obligation not to leave the country is the one with the largest practical effect: it can keep a tourist or a business traveller in Türkiye for months. It is covered in a separate guide in this series on the exit ban and how it is lifted.
Objection and release requests
Remand and judicial control decisions can be challenged (CMK Article 101(5) and Article 111(2)). The route is an objection (itiraz) under Articles 267 and 268. It is filed with the judge or court that made the decision, by petition or by a declaration recorded by the court clerk, within two weeks of the day the person concerned learned of the decision (Article 268(1)). The judge whose decision is challenged corrects it if he finds the objection well founded; otherwise he sends it within three days at most to the authority competent to examine it (Article 268(2)). For the remand and judicial control decisions of a criminal judge of peace, that authority is the judge of the criminal court of first instance (asliye ceza mahkemesi) in its judicial district (Article 268(3)(b)).
The objection is not the only tool. At every stage of the investigation and the trial, the suspect may ask to be released, and the judge or court decides whether detention continues; those decisions can also be challenged by objection (CMK Article 104(1) and (2)). A release request makes sense when something has changed: a statement has been taken, the evidence has been secured, the victim has been compensated, or an address and a guarantor in Türkiye can be shown.
The four measures side by side
| Measure | Who decides | Time limit in the Code | How it is challenged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrest (yakalama) | Anyone, if caught in the act; police where a warrant or remand would be needed, delay is harmful and the prosecutor or superiors cannot be reached at once (CMK 90(1), (2)) | Prosecutor informed at once; prosecutor’s instructions followed (CMK 90(5)) | Application to the criminal judge of peace (CMK 91(5)) |
| Police custody (gözaltı) | Public prosecutor; for listed offences caught in the act, designated police chiefs (CMK 91(1), (4)) | 24 hours plus up to 12 hours’ travel to the judge; up to 3 days for collective offences (CMK 91(1), (3)) | Application to the criminal judge of peace, decided within 24 hours (CMK 91(5)) |
| Remand (tutuklama) | Criminal judge of peace on the prosecutor’s request (CMK 101(1)) | Reviewed on release requests at any stage (CMK 104(1)) | Objection within two weeks to the criminal court of first instance judge (CMK 268(1), (3)(b)) |
| Judicial control (adli kontrol) | Criminal judge of peace on the prosecutor’s request (CMK 110(1)) | Continuation reviewed every four months at the latest (CMK 110(4)) | Request for change (CMK 111(1)); objection (CMK 111(2), 268) |
What the family in Germany can usefully do
From Germany, the most useful information for a lawyer in Türkiye is plain: the full name and date of birth of the person detained, the passport he travels on, the city and, if known, the police station or courthouse, the time of the arrest, and what the person said on the phone about the accusation. It also helps to know whether he holds Turkish as well as German nationality, because the consular notice in CMK Article 95(2) concerns foreign nationals.
The family may also contact the German embassy in Ankara or the consulate general responsible for the region; the consulate can confirm whether it has been notified and can arrange contact with a lawyer under Article 36(1)(c) of the Vienna Convention. A lawyer instructed by the family can go to the person in custody and meet him without a power of attorney (CMK Article 154(1)); the power of attorney for the later stages is signed by the suspect himself, and from Germany only the family’s instructions and contact details are needed.
What the family should not do is contact the complainant, the victim or witnesses about the case. Under Article 100(2)(b), a ground for detention may be assumed where the suspect’s conduct creates a strong suspicion of an attempt to put pressure on witnesses or victims, and contact made on his behalf can raise that question.
How Lex Lata works on these files
Lex Lata advises on Turkish criminal procedure and acts before Turkish prosecutors and courts. Where a German national is in custody, the lawyer attends the statement, examines the file, argues the remand hearing and, if remand or an exit ban is ordered, files the objection and later release or change requests. Reports go to the family in English or Turkish. German consular matters, German criminal law and any German side of the case belong to the consulate and to a Rechtsanwalt in Germany. For the wider context of a Turkish matter run from Germany, see our overview for clients in Germany.
