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
- 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
- JANUARY 30, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Turkey's justice minister Hikmet Sami Turk said might...
Turkey's justice minister Hikmet Sami Turk said might have to review a stay of execution for Abdullah Ocalan if he continued making "provocative" public statements
- JANUARY 29, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The European Union's term president, Sweden's Foreign...
The European Union's term president, Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, asked Turkey to complete the political reforms regarding also the abolishment of the death penalty
- JANUARY 29, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Austrian Member of the European Parliament Hannes Swoboda,...
Austrian Member of the European Parliament Hannes Swoboda, the special rapporteur of the European Parliament for the EU partnership with Turkey, visited Ankara and said that the abolition of the death penalty by 2004 and a stop to capital punishment in th
- JANUARY 4, 2001TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The terrorist organization, PKK [Kurdistan Workers'...
The terrorist organization, PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], has executed seven persons for "criticizing the leader
- JANUARY 1, 2001TürkiyeDEATH 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
- OCTOBER 25, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
[Turkish] Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that...
[Turkish] Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that the "annulment of capital punishment is an obligatory condition for whole EU countries
- OCTOBER 19, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Una lettera è stata inviata dal ministro belga della...
Una lettera è stata inviata dal ministro belga della Giustizia alla Corte di sicurezza dello stato ad Istanbul, con la quale si dice che Fehrije Erdal non sarebbe stata estradata in Turchia
- OCTOBER 19, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Belgian Justice Ministry sent a letter to Istanbul...
The Belgian Justice Ministry sent a letter to Istanbul State Security Court which said that Fehriye Erdal, one of the suspects of the Sabanci murder, would not be extradited to Turkey
- OCTOBER 17, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Akyn Birdal, the "Honourary Chairman" of the Human...
Akyn Birdal, the "Honourary Chairman" of the Human Rights Association (IHD) held a press briefing together with the Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chairman Daniel Cohn Bendit and IHD Chairman Husnu Ondul in the European Parliament building, in which he
- OCTOBER 16, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
In the build-up to the publication of the Accession...
In the build-up to the publication of the Accession Partnership for Turkey the European Union indicated that the removal of the death penalty from the statute books would not be a precondition for the opening of full membership talks with Turkey
- OCTOBER 12, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister Turk, responding to a question about...
Justice Minister Turk, responding to a question about capital punishment , said that in the Justice Commission's draft a new article replaced Article 312
- OCTOBER 6, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Walter Schwimmer, the Secretary General of the Council...
Walter Schwimmer, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (COE), said that he believed Turkey would take the necessary steps to abolish capital punishment
- OCTOBER 2, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
In his address to the parliament at the start of the...
In his address to the parliament at the start of the new legislative year President Ahmet Necdet Sezer urged that constitutional reforms be carried out in order to see the death penalty abolished
- OCTOBER 2, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Recai Kutan, the leader of the Virtue Party (FP) said...
Recai Kutan, the leader of the Virtue Party (FP) said in a press conference at FP Headquarters that Turkey needs to make a key decision on the abolition of the death penalty if it to enter the EU, stating "my personal tendency is the abolishment of capita
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
The Turkish Council of Ministers adopted a report prepared...
The Turkish Council of Ministers adopted a report prepared by the Human Rights Supreme Board which foresees the abolition of the capital punishment as a reference document
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2000TürkiyeDEATH PENALTY
Omer Izgi, the acting Chairman of the Nationalist Action...
Omer Izgi, the acting Chairman of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) parliamentary group said that the MHP would not allow the abolition of the death penalty because of conditions in Turkey