Türkiye
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1998
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- NOVEMBER 12, 1998 · On November 12, 1998, Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan was...
- News items in the archive
- 376
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Türkiye is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 376 news items on Türkiye, from 1998 to today.
Latest news
- JANUARY 12, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkey's government coalition decided to postpone hanging...
Turkey's government coalition decided to postpone hanging Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan until a European rights court had given its judgment on the case
- JANUARY 12, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Irate relatives of soldiers slain in action during...
Irate relatives of soldiers slain in action during the PKK terrorist campaign in southeastern Turkey protested against political leaders in Ankara by chanting slogans aimed at them during the funeral of an officer who died during clashes with renegade PKK
- JANUARY 11, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Mayors in Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast urged government...
Mayors in Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast urged government nationalists to wait for a European court ruling before pushing ahead with the execution of condemned Kurdish rebel Abdullah Ocalan
- JANUARY 11, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Several thousands of Kurds held a rally in downtown...
Several thousands of Kurds held a rally in downtown Yerevan in protest against the capital punishment passed on Abdullah Ocalan
- JANUARY 11, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Some 200 Kurds in The Hague joined a Europe-wide demonstration...
Some 200 Kurds in The Hague joined a Europe-wide demonstration to protest against the death sentence imposed on Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan
- JANUARY 9, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that it was...
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that it was his country's international obligation to wait for a European court ruling on the death sentence handed down on Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan
- JANUARY 9, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Husnu Yusuf Gokalp, the Minister of Agriculture and...
Husnu Yusuf Gokalp, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that when the file of Abdullah Ocalan, the head terrorist, was taken to the parliament, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would vote for execution of Ocalan
- JANUARY 7, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Deputy Prime Minister [and Nationalist Action Party...
Deputy Prime Minister [and Nationalist Action Party leader] Devlet Bahceli declared that those who wanted to dilute the decision passed down by the Turkish judiciary against Abdullah Ocalan on behalf of the Turkish nation should realise that their attitud
- JANUARY 7, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan warned of "tragedies" if...
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan warned of "tragedies" if the Turkish authorities did not tackle the "essence" of the Kurdish problem
- JANUARY 7, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Carrying out the death sentence passed on Kurdish rebel...
Carrying out the death sentence passed on Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan would simply enable him to do more damage to Turkey from beyond the grave, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said
- JANUARY 6, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said that...
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said that the decision on the execution of terrorist ringleader Abdullah Ocalan must be brought before the Turkish Grand National Assembly [TGNA] without delay
- JANUARY 4, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Virtue Party [FP] secretary-general Turan Alcelik...
The Virtue Party [FP] secretary-general Turan Alcelik said that on the issue of the execution of terrorist ringleader Ocalan it was necessary to act in line with the wishes of the nation and not those of the EU
- JANUARY 3, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
"If we want to join the European Union, we must rid...
"If we want to join the European Union, we must rid ourselves of the death penalty," Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said in an interview about the [Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah] Ocalan affair
- JANUARY 3, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Opposition True Path Party [DYP] deputy leader Mehmet...
Opposition True Path Party [DYP] deputy leader Mehmet Saglam declared that his party's stand at the Turkish Grand National Assembly with regard to the execution of terrorist leader Ocalan would be in favour of his execution
- JANUARY 3, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The annulment of the death sentence imposed on Ocalan...
The annulment of the death sentence imposed on Ocalan would constitute the first step towards a solution to the Kurdish issue, the Kurdistan Workers' Party said in a statement
- JANUARY 3, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Tensions were rising between the members of Turkey's...
Tensions were rising between the members of Turkey's coalition government over the fate of Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, who had been sentenced to death by a Turkish court
- JANUARY 1, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel spoke out in favour...
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel spoke out in favour of waiting for a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights on the death sentence given to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan before taking any action
- JANUARY 1, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkey's coalition government had to deal with a number...
Turkey's coalition government had to deal with a number of controversial issues in Parliament, including the presidential elections and the death sentence of outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) chieftain Abdullah Ocalan
- JANUARY 1, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
In Turkey offenses punishable by death under ordinary...
In Turkey offenses punishable by death under ordinary criminal law are aggravated murder and crimes against the unity and integrity of the State
- DECEMBER 30, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 30, the chief prosecutor of the Court of...
On December 30, the chief prosecutor of the Court of Appeal in Ankara rejected the appeal presented by Ocalan's lawyers for a retrial, confirming the Kurd leader's death sentence
- DECEMBER 26, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 26, Nevzat Helvaci, Chairman of the Turkey...
On December 26, Nevzat Helvaci, Chairman of the Turkey Human Rights Institution (TIHAK) said that illegal, arbitrary executions without trial must be avoided and the death sentence, which is dishonorable, must be abolished
- DECEMBER 22, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 22, the Supreme Court Criminal Department No
On December 22, the Supreme Court Criminal Department No
- DECEMBER 20, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 20, the European Parliament, which has...
On December 20, the European Parliament, which has not warmly welcomed Turkey's candidate status, called on Turkey to abolish the death sentence
- DECEMBER 16, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 16, the People's Democracy Party (Hadep)...
On December 16, the People's Democracy Party (Hadep) gave a qualified welcome to a speech by Mesut Yilmaz, leader of the Motherland Party, in which he said that Turks and Kurds had an equal right to democracy and freedoms
- DECEMBER 13, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 13, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Chair of the EU/Turkey...
On December 13, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Chair of the EU/Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, welcomed the statements made during the EU Helsinki Summit by Bulent Ecevit on the abolition of the death penalty, saying he hoped this would be the "first step towa
- DECEMBER 11, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December ll, the Council of Ministers of the European...
On December ll, the Council of Ministers of the European Union meeting in Helsinki formalized Turkey's candidacy for membership of the Union
- DECEMBER 4, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 4, the conservative National Movement Party...
On December 4, the conservative National Movement Party (MHP), which is a member of the ruling coalition, said that it was in favor of the ratification by the Parliament of Ocalan's death by hanging
- DECEMBER 1, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On December 1, the European Court of Human Rights which...
On December 1, the European Court of Human Rights which accepted the application of Ocalan's lawyers for a cautionary measure, asked Turkey to postpone his death penalty until the procedures were finalized at the Court
- NOVEMBER 25, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On November 25, the Court of Appeal confirmed Ocalan's...
On November 25, the Court of Appeal confirmed Ocalan's death sentence
- SEPTEMBER 10, 1999TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
On September 10, State Minister Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik...
On September 10, State Minister Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik met with IHD Chairman Hunsu Ondul and IHD Board of Directors member Osman Baydemir to discuss Turkey's drive to improve its human rights record