Crimes Against Humanity

The Legal Provision in Article 77 of the TCK

Article 77 of Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 provides;

“(1) The systematic commission of the following acts, in accordance with a plan, against a section of society for political, philosophical, racial or religious motives constitutes a crime against humanity:

a) Intentional killing.

b) Intentional injury.

c) Torture, torment or enslavement.

d) Deprivation of liberty.

e) Subjection to scientific experiments.

f) Sexual assault or sexual abuse of children.

g) Forced pregnancy.

h) Enforced prostitution.

(2) Where the act in subparagraph (a) of the first paragraph is committed, the offender shall be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment; where the acts defined in the other subparagraphs are committed, a sentence of imprisonment of not less than eight years shall be imposed. However, in respect of the offences of intentional killing and intentional injury committed within the scope of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of the first paragraph, the provisions on real concurrence of offences shall be applied according to the number of victims identified.

(3) Security measures shall also be imposed on legal persons in respect of these offences.

(4) No limitation period shall run in respect of these offences.“

Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237, Art. 77

as provided above.

Crimes against humanity featured before the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, and the acts constituting this crime and their definitions are also set out in Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Elements of the Crime Against Humanity

The elements of crimes against humanity, regulated under the heading of international crimes in the special provisions forming the Second Book of the Turkish Criminal Code, are as follows:

• Political, philosophical, racial and religious motive
• Being directed against a section of society
• Systematic commission in pursuance of a plan
• Commission of one of the offences in the first paragraph

• The offender or offenders must commit the crime for political, philosophical, racial or religious motives. These motives include political, religious and racial discrimination.
• The acts must be directed against a section of society. Society here refers to the groups described in the first paragraph of the article The acts need not be directed against the relevant groups in part or in whole. It is sufficient that they are directed against persons belonging to these groups. In offences committed against part or all of the groups, where the conduct goes beyond the individual and is directed against the community, the crime of genocide may arise if the other conditions of Article 76 of the Turkish Criminal Code are also present.
• The acts must be committed systematically in pursuance of a plan. If the acts developed suddenly and there was no prior plan or programme, the elements of this offence are not established.
• One of the offences listed in the first paragraph must be committed.

Sanctions, Limitation Periods and Applicable Law

Where the act of intentional killing has been committed in the crime against humanity, aggravated life imprisonment is imposed. In addition, pursuant to the last sentence of the second paragraph, the offender is punished separately for each act of killing. Likewise, in offences of intentional injury, a separate penalty must be imposed for each act of injury. Where acts other than intentional killing are committed, the penalty imposed may not be less than 8 years. Pursuant to Article 49 of the Turkish Criminal Code, the upper limit of imprisonment is 20 years.

Where the conditions are met, the security measures for legal persons under Article 60 of the Turkish Criminal Code may be imposed.