Türkiye
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In Turkey offenses punishable by death under ordinary...
- News items in the archive
- 321
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 321 news items on Türkiye, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- OCTOBER 7, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The number of death sentence files awaiting to be taken...
The number of death sentence files awaiting to be taken up by the Parliamentary Justice Commission reached 61
- OCTOBER 4, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Many analysts are sceptical that the amended constitution...
Many analysts are sceptical that the amended constitution would lead to dramatic changes
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Turkish Parliament voted to change several articles...
The Turkish Parliament voted to change several articles of the constitution, including restricting the death penalty to crimes of terrorism, in times of war and close threat of war
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkish MPs opened debate on abolishing the death penalty...
Turkish MPs opened debate on abolishing the death penalty and making far-reaching constitutional reforms to boost their drive to join the EU
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
A top Turkish judge, Appeals Court chief judge Sami...
A top Turkish judge, Appeals Court chief judge Sami Selcuk, said the country should draw up a new constitution instead of "wasting time" amending the present charter to bring it into line with European Union standards
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Mohamed Aly Abbas, a Turkish national suspected of...
Mohamed Aly Abbas, a Turkish national suspected of killing Briton Edgar Fernandes was extradited from Malta to Turkey
- AUGUST 1, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Izmir Forestry Regional Directorate's Protection Branch...
Izmir Forestry Regional Directorate's Protection Branch Director Ilhami Alkan said that people who burned down forests for terrorist purposes would be sentenced to 24-30 years in prison and would be fined TL 34
- JULY 6, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkish officials unveiled a new penal code that abolishes...
Turkish officials unveiled a new penal code that abolishes the death penalty and eliminates laws under which intellectuals and politicians were jailed for expressing opinions contrary to official government policy
- JULY 3, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Court of Cassation upheld the death sentences given...
The Court of Cassation upheld the death sentences given to 31 Moslem activists accused of participating in an Islamist riot in 1993 in which 37 people were killed
- JUNE 21, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Scwimmer...
Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Scwimmer asked Turkey and Russia to sign European Convention of Human Rights protocol no
- JUNE 15, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The All-Party Parliamentary Accord Commission had reached...
The All-Party Parliamentary Accord Commission had reached a consensus on 37 of 51 proposed constitutional amendments
- JUNE 11, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Human Rights Association Istanbul Branch demonstrated...
The Human Rights Association Istanbul Branch demonstrated in protest of the execution of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh
- MAY 31, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Prime Ministry notes requesting the execution of...
The Prime Ministry notes requesting the execution of the death sentences given to inmates Mutlu Akyn, Mehmet Nuri Ozen, Hasan Askyn and Seyhmus Poyraz, were submitted to Parliament
- MAY 28, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Assessing his government's performance in the previous...
Assessing his government's performance in the previous two years, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the government had made significant accomplishments against the separatist, anti-secularist and anti-democratic forces
- MAY 21, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association...
The Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) released its progress report in which it stated a list of objectives for democratisation in Turkey
- MAY 20, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkish security forces have killed six people in the...
Turkish security forces have killed six people in the mountainous southeastern province of Bingol, state-controlled Anatolian news agency said
- MAY 8, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Ercan Kartal, a member of the illegal Revolutionary...
Ercan Kartal, a member of the illegal Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), was sentenced to capital punishment by an Istanbul State Security Court (DGM) on charges of "attempting to change the constitutional order by using force"
- APRIL 6, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
German Socialist Deputy Ozan Ceyhun, of Turkish origin,...
German Socialist Deputy Ozan Ceyhun, of Turkish origin, said the National Program was a positive step for Turkey's EU membership
- APRIL 1, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Salih Izzet Erdis, the head of illegal Islamic Great...
Salih Izzet Erdis, the head of illegal Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front organization, was sentenced to capital punishment by the Istanbul State Security Court no: 6
- MARCH 26, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was charged with...
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was charged with new offences that could see him face a second death penalty, said the state-run Anatolian news agency
- MARCH 26, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The European Union welcomed Turkey's political reform...
The European Union welcomed Turkey's political reform plan as a "landmark" in its EU membership drive, but said Ankara needs to do more on key issues such as abolition of the death penalty
- MARCH 23, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that if parliament...
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that if parliament removes the death penalty from the penal code, it would however, still exist under a military law for treason and espionage and under a forestry protection act which calls for the execution of peop
- MARCH 21, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz...
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the government should lift the capital punishment in the shortest time frame between one and five years
- MARCH 20, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that capital...
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that capital punishment did not take place in the new Draft Turkish Penal Code that was prepared
- MARCH 19, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The European Commission gave a cautious welcome to...
The European Commission gave a cautious welcome to news that Turkey planned to abolish the death penalty to join the European Union
- MARCH 19, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The sub-title "Abolition of the Death Penalty" of the...
The sub-title "Abolition of the Death Penalty" of the "Political Criteria" part of the National Programme said, "according to the Constitution, the decision on the execution of a death penalty belongs exclusively to parliament
- MARCH 19, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkey pledged a wholesale reform of its legal system,...
Turkey pledged a wholesale reform of its legal system, promising to abandon the death penalty to join the European Union
- MARCH 8, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Today, the Accession Partnership with Turkey was formally...
Today, the Accession Partnership with Turkey was formally adopted signifying an important step in the implementation of the pre-accession strategy for Turkey
- FEBRUARY 15, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Ankara High Criminal Court no: 3 sentenced two...
The Ankara High Criminal Court no: 3 sentenced two suspects of the "Bahcelievler Case" to capital punishment for the second time
- FEBRUARY 14, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Sami Selcuk, president of the Supreme Court of Appeals,...
Sami Selcuk, president of the Supreme Court of Appeals, said that Turkey, which is aiming to achieve full EU membership, should speed up democracy and start by drawing up a new constitution