Called by the Police or Prosecutor in Türkiye: Rights and First Steps

First establish the capacity in which you are being called. A suspect is a person under suspicion during investigation. Article 147 provides rights to be informed of the allegation, obtain defence assistance, remain silent about the allegation and request specific favourable evidence. Identity questions must be answered truthfully.

A witness generally has attendance and truthfulness duties, with statutory exceptions. Article 45 permits the specified relatives to decline testimony; Article 48 permits withholding answers that could expose the witness or those specified relatives to prosecution.

A complainant or victim has the rights in Article 234, including seeking evidence, obtaining specified documents subject to restrictions, challenging a non-prosecution decision and, in the prescribed cases, requesting appointed representation.

Ask for the capacity to be stated in the notice and at the interview. If a witness becomes a suspect, the rights applicable to that new position must be respected; the roles should not be treated as interchangeable.

Article 145 provides for a summons stating why the person is called and warning of compulsory production for failure to attend. Police may also contact people by telephone in practice. The legal effect of a phone contact and any separate lawful order must be assessed rather than assuming every call is a formal summons or can safely be ignored.

For witnesses before a prosecutor, judge or court, Article 43 permits telephone, fax, email and similar contact, but paragraph (2) excludes the consequences attached to the written witness summons for that form of contact. Paragraph (5) limits that provision's stated context.

• Note the caller's name, unit, file reference, requested date and your stated capacity.
• Find the institution's official contact details independently and verify the call through that channel.
• Do not give passwords or verification codes or transfer money to a caller claiming payment will close a criminal file.

Impersonating a specified official or institutional employee to deceive can engage Criminal Code Article 158(1)(l). See the online fraud guide for reporting and evidence.

• Identity: identity is established and identity questions must be answered truthfully.
• The allegation: the alleged offence must be explained.
• Defence counsel: the right to choose counsel and have counsel present must be explained; appointment is available under the statutory conditions.
• Silence: there is a right not to explain the alleged offence. This does not remove the identity obligation.
• Favourable evidence: the suspect may request collection of specific material to dispel suspicion.
• Notification: the statutory provisions concerning notification of a chosen relative after apprehension apply.

Article 149 addresses counsel at all stages and permits up to three lawyers at an investigative interview. Exercise of access to counsel and any specific statutory rules must be considered in the actual file.

Article 148 prohibits coercive and other specified methods and promises of unlawful benefit. A statement obtained through prohibited methods cannot be used as evidence even with purported consent.

Using the right to silence is different from destroying or altering evidence or pressuring witnesses. Those behaviours may be relevant to protective measures where the other statutory requirements are met.

Under Article 150(1), a suspect or accused who declares inability to choose counsel can request appointment. Where an unrepresented person is a child, is unable to defend themself to the specified degree, or falls within the provision's deaf-and-mute category, paragraph (2) provides appointment without a request.

Paragraph (3) applies compulsory defence to offences whose minimum imprisonment exceeds five years. This is not the same as an offence whose maximum exceeds five years or whose minimum is exactly five.

These are central examples, not an exhaustive account of every special appointment rule. Judicial questioning on a detention request and other specific situations must also be checked.

A victim's appointed lawyer under Article 234 has a different legal basis and scope from a suspect's defence counsel. Lack of a notarised power of attorney should not automatically be treated as barring all access to defence assistance.

A summons, compulsory production, apprehension, police custody and judicial detention are distinct measures.

Under Article 146, compulsory production may be ordered for a suspect or accused who does not attend an Article 145 summons, or where the separate conditions specified there exist. A person brought under the order must be taken promptly, or at the latest within twenty-four hours excluding travel time, before the calling prosecutor, judge or court for the relevant procedure.

Article 146(7) also addresses a witness, expert, victim or complainant who fails to attend despite a summons. The form of the call and any statutory exception or excuse must be distinguished.

If you genuinely cannot attend, communicate a documented excuse to the calling authority in advance and seek clarification. Sending an excuse does not by itself establish that the authority accepted it or cancelled a lawful order.

Article 147 requires a record of the interview or judicial questioning. It includes the place, date, persons present, observance of rights, reading and signatures. Reasons for refusing to sign must also be recorded.

1. Read the whole record before signing.
2. Ask for any omission or wording different from your statement to be corrected.
3. Request an explanation of anything you do not understand.
4. If a correction is not made, the refusal to sign and its reason can be recorded.

Signing an inaccurate or misunderstood record may make a later factual dispute more difficult. Refusal to sign does not automatically erase the interview or terminate the investigation. Ask about obtaining a copy through the appropriate procedure.

Under Article 148(4), an uncounselled police statement cannot form the basis of judgment unless the suspect or accused confirms it before a judge or court.

Yargıtay 5th Criminal Chamber, E.2021/4100, K.2024/6543, 30 May 2024, applied this distinction: confirmation at the prosecutor's office was not sufficient for the specified purpose. The majority required exclusion of the unconfirmed police statement and assessment of the remaining evidence. The decision included a dissent concerning the evidentiary assessment.

This does not make an uncounselled interview consequence-free. It can affect the investigation and may be confirmed later. Nor is a prosecutor the same as a judge or court for the confirmation rule.

No. Under Article 100, judicial detention requires concrete evidence showing strong suspicion and a detention ground, together with proportionality. Flight-related facts or strong suspicion of evidence destruction or pressure on witnesses are examples; the statutory catalogue and the file must be considered.

Article 100(4) prohibits detention for offences punishable only by a judicial fine and, subject to the stated exception for intentional offences against bodily integrity, offences whose maximum imprisonment does not exceed two years.

Police custody under Article 91 is separate and requires investigative necessity and concrete evidence of suspicion. The ordinary period is at most twenty-four hours from apprehension, excluding necessary transfer time to the nearest judge or court, which itself cannot exceed twelve hours. Collective offences and other specific statutory situations have additional rules; twenty-four hours is not a universal outer limit.

The Article 91(5) route challenging apprehension, custody or extension and the objection route against a judicial detention decision are different. Being called for an interview neither guarantees detention nor guarantees release.

• The summons or verified call details, including date, unit, file number and capacity.
• An identity document.
• Original relevant records, such as receipts, messages and invoices, preserved without alteration.
• Your chosen lawyer's contact and available appointment details.
• A note to ask about the interview record and the procedure for obtaining a copy.

• Criminal Procedure Code No.5271: Articles 43, 45, 48, 91, 100, 145–150 and 234.
• Criminal Code No.5237: Article 158(1)(l).
• Court of Cassation official search: 5th Criminal Chamber, E.2021/4100, K.2024/6543, 30.05.2024.