Reporting a Crime in Türkiye 2026: Criminal Complaints, Evidence and Victims’ Rights

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1️⃣ Reporting a Crime in Türkiye 2026: Criminal Complaints, Evidence and Victims’ Rights​


Foreign nationals can report crimes as victims or witnesses in Türkiye. Turkish citizenship is not required. Limited Turkish or not knowing the offender’s full identity should not prevent a prompt report.

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Organising documents and an online application​

2️⃣ 📊 Practical overview​

SituationAction
1️⃣ Ongoing dangerCall emergency services on 112
2️⃣ Criminal incidentReport to police, gendarmerie or prosecutor
3️⃣ No-prosecution decisionImmediately check service and the challenge route

3️⃣ Where to report​

  • A police station — Polis Merkezi.
  • The gendarmerie — Jandarma — in the area under its jurisdiction.
  • The chief public prosecutor’s office — Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı — at the courthouse.
  • 112 for an emergency or an immediate, continuing threat.
You can make an oral report that is recorded by the official or submit a written petition. The law provides for referral when reports reach certain other public authorities, but direct reporting to the police, gendarmerie or prosecutor gives a clearer route.

4️⃣ A crime report and a formal complaint​

İhbar means reporting an act believed to be a crime; anyone can make such a report. Şikâyet is the victim’s or injured party’s formal request for proceedings where the offence requires a complaint. Some offences are investigated by the prosecutor once known, without such a request.

5️⃣ The six-month complaint period​

For offences that require a complaint, the general period is six months from the date the entitled person knows both the act and the offender, provided that the offence’s limitation period has not expired. This is not a universal deadline for every crime or procedural step.

Report promptly rather than waiting six months. CCTV, account records and other electronic evidence can be deleted much sooner. See the Ministry of Justice’s complaint guidance.

6️⃣ What to include in a written complaint​

  • 1️⃣ Your name and the relevant identity, foreigner-number or passport details.
  • 2️⃣ An address and telephone number where you can be reached.
  • 3️⃣ When and where the incident happened.
  • 4️⃣ A clear account in chronological order.
  • 5️⃣ The suspect’s details, if known.
  • 6️⃣ Witness names and contact details.
  • 7️⃣ A list of the evidence attached.
  • 8️⃣ Evidence you ask the prosecutor to obtain.
  • 9️⃣ A request for investigation and the appropriate legal action.
  • 1️⃣0️⃣ The date and your signature.
If the offender is unknown, say so — Faili Meçhul — and provide any information that may help identify them. You do not need to invent a name to report the incident.

7️⃣ Preserve the evidence​

  • Keep original files without editing them; export the full conversation where possible rather than relying on an isolated screenshot.
  • Save the relevant link, account name, date and time.
  • Photograph the scene and damage from several angles.
  • Obtain medical documentation for an injury.
  • Keep invoices, transfer records and receipts.
  • Record witnesses’ names and contact details.
  • Keep the original messages after taking screenshots, and make a separate backup.
  • Avoid publishing the entire evidence file publicly where this could harm privacy or the investigation.
For shop or building CCTV, identify the camera location and relevant time promptly, because recordings may be overwritten automatically.

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Seeking assistance with an application​

8️⃣ Injuries and medical reports​

Call 112 if urgent assistance is needed. At the hospital, explain that the injury arose from a possible criminal incident. Describe all symptoms accurately and ask that the injuries and pain be documented. Retain the report, prescriptions and bills, and photograph visible changes over the following days. A medical report can be important evidence, but inability to obtain one immediately should not prevent a complaint.

9️⃣ If you do not speak Turkish​

Ask for an official interpreter and explain that your Turkish is insufficient to give an accurate legal statement. Do not sign a statement you do not understand.

Before signing, read the record or have it interpreted, check names, dates and amounts, ask for omitted facts to be added and inaccuracies corrected, and ensure no blank or incomplete document is presented for signature.

1️⃣0️⃣ Keep the reference number​

Ask for a copy or details of the report and its registration number. Once the file reaches the prosecutor, it may receive an investigation reference — Soruşturma No. This helps identify the office handling it, provide additional evidence, follow the outcome, instruct a lawyer and establish when you reported the matter.

1️⃣1️⃣ Victims’ rights during the investigation​

Criminal Procedure Law No. 5271 sets out victims’ and complainants’ rights. Depending on the case, these include asking for evidence to be collected, supplying documents, obtaining copies where permitted without prejudicing investigative confidentiality, using a lawyer, challenging a decision not to prosecute within the applicable period, and receiving the information and notices required by law.

1️⃣2️⃣ If the prosecutor decides not to prosecute​

A decision that there is no ground to prosecute is called Kovuşturmaya Yer Olmadığına Dair Karar — KYOK. Read the full notice immediately. Establish the reason, competent objection authority, deadline, its starting date and required documents.

Sending a new CİMER complaint is not a substitute for the prescribed objection. Obtain advice before the deadline expires; do not assume the initial six-month complaint rule governs this later remedy.

1️⃣3️⃣ Mistakes to avoid​

  • Using only a CİMER message when a criminal report is needed.
  • Giving a vague account without dates or supporting material.
  • Waiting until CCTV has been erased.
  • Handing over an original device or document without the appropriate record of receipt.
  • Signing a statement you cannot understand.
  • Publishing accusations that create a separate legal dispute.
  • Ignoring a non-prosecution decision until the objection period expires.
  • Paying someone who claims they can make a criminal file disappear.
For an immediate threat, use 112. For the legal handling of a particular case, a registered lawyer can assess the documents and the correct procedural route.

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Discussing documents during a legal consultation​

1️⃣4️⃣ ✅ Records and checks​

EvidencePreservation
1️⃣ MessagesOriginal files, sequence and dates
2️⃣ Transfers and reportsClear copies without alteration
3️⃣ Cameras and witnessesLocation, time and contact details

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