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DE RUEHAK #0425/01 0641519
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041519Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
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UNCLAS ANKARA 000425 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR: G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/SE, EUR/PGI 
 DEPT FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  8TH ANNUAL TIP REPORT:  INVESTIGATION AND 
PROSECUTION 
 
REF: SECSTATE 2731 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶2. (U) Post's responses are keyed to reftel questions.  This 
is part 2 of 3 (septels). 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶A. (U) Chapter 1, Article 80 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) 
specifically defines human trafficking and prescribes 
penalties for traffickers and their accomplices.  The law 
covers both internal and transnational forms of trafficking. 
Penalties range from eight to twelve years of imprisonment 
(up from five to ten years in earlier versions of the law), 
and, at judicial discretion, an additional penalty of up to 
ten thousand days.  Trafficking crimes can also be (and have 
been) prosecuted under statutes of the Law on Combating 
Benefit-Oriented Criminal Organizations, Turkish Citizenship 
Law, Labor Law, Law on Motivating for Prostitution, Law on 
Working Permits for Foreigners, and the Law on the Prevention 
of Money Laundering. 
 
Under the amended Article 4 of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 
a crime, such as TIP, committed by a terrorist organization 
can be prosecuted as a terrorist crime.  The terrorist PKK, 
for example, is known to fund its terrorist operations though 
human trafficking and other transnational crimes. 
 
The Highway Transport Law (July 19, 2003) and the Highway 
Transport Regulation (February 25, 2004) include provisions 
that limit the ability of human traffickers to use transport 
vehicles to traffic persons. 
 
In December 2006, the Turkish parliament passed and the 
Turkish President signed into law amendments to two key 
articles in the TPC.  Lawmakers added forced prostitution to 
Article 80, the primary anti-trafficking article, and removed 
forced prostitution from the Law on Motivating to 
Prostitution (Article 227), the prostitution and pimping 
article. 
 
Chapter 1, Article 80:  Human Trafficking (as amended 
December 19, 2006): 
 
(1) A person who procures or kidnaps persons or who takes or 
transports persons from one place to another or who harbors 
persons with a view to force them to work or to provide a 
service, made them be involved in prostitution or to subject 
them to slavery or similar practices or to donate their 
organs by exerting threats, pressure, force or violence, by 
abusing his authority, by deceit or by obtaining their 
consent through taking advantage of the opportunities they 
have to control them or of their helplessness shall be 
sentenced to imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years 
and a judicial fine imposed equivalent of up to ten thousand 
days. 
 
(2) In the event of actions which are undertaken for the 
purposes referred to in the first paragraph and which 
constitute an offense, the consent of the injured party shall 
be deemed void. 
 
(3) Where juveniles under eighteen years of age are procured, 
kidnapped, taken or transported from one place to 
another or harbored for the purposes referred to in the first 
paragraph, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to the 
penalties referred to in the first paragraph, notwithstanding 
that none of the acts instrumental to the offense has been 
resorted to. 
 
(4) Security measures shall be taken for legal entities on 
account of the above-mentioned crimes. 
 
On June 1, 2005, Article 80 replaced the following 
anti-trafficking statutes in effect since August 3, 2002 
(some court cases initiated before the current reporting 
period have continued under this article during the reporting 
period): 
 
Article 201(b): 
(1) Those who provide, kidnap, take or transfer from one 
place to another and house other individuals with the 
intention of making them work or serve by force, subject them 
to slavery or similar treatment, threaten, pressure, use 
force or coercion to persuade them to give up their bodily 
organs, use undue influence, secure their consent by 
deception or by using the desperation of such individuals 
shall be sentenced to five to ten years of heavy imprisonment 
and a heavy fine of not less than one thousand lira ($833). 
 
(2) If the actions that constitute a crime attempted with the 
intentions laid out in the first paragraph exist, the 
victim is assumed not to have given his/her consent. 
 
(3) If children below the age of eighteen are provided, 
kidnapped, taken or transferred from one place to another or 
housed with the intentions specified in paragraph one, even 
when no intermediary actions in relation to the crime are 
committed, the penalties foreseen in paragraph one shall 
still be applied to the perpetrator. 
 
(4) If the crimes listed in the paragraphs above are 
committed in an organized manner, the penalties foreseen for 
the perpetrators shall be doubled. 
 
Turkey has adopted the following international conventions: 
 
- ILO Convention 182 (ratified 2001); 
- ILO Convention 29 and 105 on Forced or Compulsory Labor 
(ILO Convention 29 went into effect on January 27, 1998 and 
ILO Convention 105 on December 21, 1960); 
- Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child 
Pornography (ratified May 9, 2002); 
- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking-in-Persons, especially Women and Children, 
Supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational 
Organized Crime (ratified March 18, 2003). 
 
¶B.  (U) The amended TPC Article 80 provides penalties for 
traffickers of eight to twelve years imprisonment and, at 
judicial discretion, a judicial fine equivalent to ten 
thousand days imprisonment.  The penalties apply to both 
traffickers of human beings for sexual exploitation and 
traffickers of human beings for labor exploitation. 
 
¶C.  (U) Labor exploitation can be prosecuted under Article 
80, which carries penalties of eight to twelve years 
imprisonment plus the possibility of an additional judicial 
fine equivalent to ten thousand days imprisonment (see 
above).  No evidence has been reported to us that Turkey is a 
forced labor source country.  Turkey is not a significant 
forced labor destination country. 
 
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is authorized to 
prevent uncontrolled employment of foreign labor and to grant 
work permits under the Law on Work Permits for Foreigners 
(number 4817) (effective September 6, 2003). 
 
Under law 4817, foreigners must be formally permitted to work 
in Turkey and registered with social security or they and 
their employers can be subject to a fine.  4817 stipulates 
that employment contracts must be written in Turkish and the 
language of the foreign employee.  The GOT is authorized to 
reject permits for employment that threatens "general health 
and/or morals."  The Ministry of Labor (MOL) undertook active 
investigations of illegally employed foreigners during the 
reporting period, reporting that it investigated over 103,000 
workplaces and 584,000 employees between October 2006 and 
¶2007.  243 illegal foreigners were identified; they were all 
screened by TNP for evidence of trafficking. 
 
¶D. (U) Chapter 1, Section 6 of the TPC provides varying 
degrees of penalties for sexual assault, rape, and sexual 
abuse of adults and minors, as noted below.  Penalties may 
range from two years to life imprisonment, depending upon the 
circumstances.  Penalties for rape can be less or more than 
penalties for trafficking, depending on the situation. 
Section 6: Offenses Against Sexual Integrity 
 
Article 102: Sexual Assault 
 
(1) The perpetrator who violates the physical integrity of 
another person by means of sexual conduct shall be imprisoned 
for a term of two to seven years upon the complaint of the 
victim. 
 
(2) Where the act is committed by means of inserting an organ 
or similar object into the body, the perpetrator shall be 
imprisoned for a term of seven to twelve years.  If the act 
is committed against the spouse, legal investigation and 
prosecution shall be initiated if the victim lodges a 
complaint. 
 
(3) If the offense is committed, 
 
a) Against a person who is physically or mentally incapable 
of defending him/herself, 
b) By breaching of duties and/or abusing the functions 
pertaining to the official status, 
c) Against a person of first, second, or third degree blood 
relation or a relative by marriage, 
d) By using weapons and with the cooperation of more than one 
person, penalties imposed in accordance with articles above 
shall be increased by half. 
 
(4) In case excessive violence is exerted on the victim 
during the commitment of the offense, the perpetrator shall 
also be punished for deliberate wounding. 
 
(5) In case the offense causes damage to the physical or 
mental health of the victim, the perpetrator shall be 
imprisoned for a term of not less than ten years. 
 
(6) If, as a result of the crime, the victim enters into a 
vegetative state or dies, the sentence will be strict life 
imprisonment. 
 
Article 103: Sexual Abuse of Children 
 
(1) The perpetrator of child abuse shall be imprisoned for a 
term of three to eight years.  Sexual abuse means: 
 
a) any act of a sexual nature against a minor who has not 
reached fifteen years of age, or, if over fifteen years of 
age, lacks the competence to perceive the legal meaning and 
consequences of such acts. 
 
b) sexual acts against other minors depending on use of 
force, threat, deception, or by any other reason affecting 
the will of the child. 
 
(2) Where the sexual assault occurs as a result of insertion 
of an organ or similar object into the body, a 
penalty imprisonment from eight to fifteen years shall be 
imposed. 
 
(3) Where the sexual assault is committed by a first, second 
or third degree blood relative, step-father, the 
person who has adopted the person concerned, guardian, tutor, 
teacher, caretaker, or other person in charge of providing 
health services or who bears the obligation for protection or 
supervision, or through abuse of the service relation, the 
penalty to be imposed, in accordance with the above 
paragraphs, shall be increased by half. 
 
(4) Where the sexual assault is committed against a minor 
indicated in paragraph 1(a) as a result of force or threat, 
the penalty to be imposed, in accordance with the above 
paragraphs, shall be increased by half. 
 
(5) Where the force and compulsion used with the aim of 
sexual assault lead to aggravated consequences of the offense 
of deliberate wounding, provisions of the offense of 
deliberate wounding shall apply additionally. 
 
(6) In case the offense results in damage to the physical or 
mental health of the victim, the perpetrator shall be 
imprisoned to strict life imprisonment. 
 
(7) Where the offense leads the victim into a vegetative 
state or to death, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to 
strict life imprisonment. 
 
¶E.  (U) Prostitution in Turkey is legal and regulated.  Sex 
workers must have Turkish citizenship; foreign citizens 
cannot legally practice prostitution.  Trafficking, smuggling 
with the intent to traffic, pimping, enforcing, or in any 
 
other way supporting the activities of a trafficking 
operation is illegal.  The law also prohibits and provides 
punishment for individuals who own, operate or work to 
support the operation of brothels associated with human 
trafficking.  The minimum age for prostitution in Turkey is 
¶18. 
 
¶F.  (SBU) According to figures provided by the Ministry of 
Interior, security forces apprehended 308 suspected human 
traffickers in 2007.  175 were placed under arrest after 
initial judicial processing, 83 were freed to be tried on 
release, 47 suspects are being sought on arrest warrants, and 
three were released without charges. 
 
According to charts provided by the MOJ's Judicial Records 
Statistics Bureau via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), 
Turkish prosecutors launched 163 Article 80 investigations in 
2007 (119 in the last three quarters of 2007).  23 such 
investigations were carried over from 2006. 
 
According to charts provided by the MOJ's Judicial Records 
Statistics Bureau via MFA, Turkish courts opened 88 Article 
80 cases (files), involving 422 suspects, and continued work 
on 75 cases, involving 397 suspects, in 2007.  (76 cases, 
involving 354 suspects, were opened in the last three 
quarters of 2007.)  In 2007, the courts resolved 72 cases 
involving 355 suspected traffickers.  According to the charts 
received so far, the majority of suspects were acquitted or 
the cases referred to other courts or combined with other 
proceedings.  Four traffickers were reported convicted, and 
received imprisonment plus a judicial fine.  ****MFA has 
notified post by diplomatic note that MOJ statistics are 
incomplete.  We will follow-up with the final statistics as 
soon as they become available.*** 
 
First quarter 2008 judicial statistics were not yet available. 
 
Post was unable to obtain specific data on time served by the 
reporting deadline.  The GOT does not have a central database 
or tracking system for incarcerated individuals and must seek 
information from each province by fax.  We will provide the 
information if and when it becomes available. 
 
No evidence was reported to us that Turkey is a labor source 
country.  Labor exploitation can be prosecuted under Article 
80, which carried penalties of eight to twelve years 
imprisonment and heavy fines (see part C). 
 
¶G.  (U) The GOT has broadly, and the Turkish National Police 
(TNP) specifically, institutionalized TIP-related training 
and conducts regular train-the-trainer sessions within its 
respective agencies.  TNP also participates in training with 
various countries at the Turkish Academy to Fight Against 
Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC) and through the Southeast 
Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI).  TNP reported that 
about 659 law enforcement officials received TIP training in 
2007 -- hundreds more when regional and EC training is 
included.  TIP training in Turkey includes:  victim 
identification, national and international regulations, 
international coordination, victim sensitivity, NGO 
cooperation, investigative techniques, data collection and 
database management.  TNP estimates that since 2004, over 
5,000 police have received TIP-specific training.  Judges and 
prosecutors also continued to receive TIP training. 
 
During the reporting period, Turkish law enforcement, 
judicial authorities, other government agencies, media 
representatives, IOM, NGOs, municipalities and other local 
government officials participated in a series of regional TIP 
workshops and seminars, including the northeast Black Sea 
region (May 24-25, 2007), and in Antalya (July 9-10, 2007). 
 
During the reporting period the TNP engaged in continued 
efforts to educate the media on TIP, namely the difference 
between prostitution and exploitation, as well as the 
difference between TIP and human smuggling.  While still 
prone to inaccuracy, the media has greatly improved its TIP 
reporting during the rating period; most major media outlets 
now refer to victims as "victims," and no longer as 
"Natashas."  The media is also an important source of tips to 
the TIP helpline (see part 1, septel). 
 
During the reporting period the Jandarma continued training 
its personnel via its mobile training unit using a course 
titled, "The Importance of the Fight Against Trafficking and 
Necessary Measures."  It distributed 3,280 copies of its 
"Guide to Fight Human Trafficking Crimes" to Jandarma 
officers in 2007.  The guide discusses national and 
international legal documents, TIP awareness during an 
investigation, how evidence should be collected for the 
investigation, protection of witnesses, and victim 
sensitivity. 
 
In July 2007, the TNP, in conjunction with other taskforce 
agencies, and in partnership with the Berlin Police and the 
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, Austria, 
concluded a European Union (EU) "twinning project" on 
"Strengthening the Institutional Capacity in the Fight 
Against Human Trafficking."  The 1.2 million Euro project's 
aim was to raise Turkish standards in the fight against TIP 
by strengthening institutions, raising public awareness, 
improving victim assistance, strengthening the legal 
framework, and training.  The comprehensive strategy which 
emerged from the "twinning project" contributed to the 
development of a new national action plan, currently awaiting 
the Prime Minister's signature and translation into English 
(see part 1, septel).  According to TNP Deputy Director and 
Project Leader Mehmet Tokgoz, the project entailed 90 
activities, including 238 Turkish, German, Austrian, and EC 
experts, and reached 1,100 different Turkish personnel. 
 
One TNP and one MOJ official, along with one employee from 
each of the two NGOs operating Turkey's dedicated 
TIP-shelters, participated in a Department-sponsored TIP IVLP 
program with Georgian counterparts during the reporting 
period. 
 
¶H.  (SBU) The GOT has concluded MOUs or Protocols on TIP with 
the following countries:  Belarus (2004), Georgia (2005), 
Ukraine (2005), Azerbaijan (2005), Moldova (2006), and 
Kyrgyzstan (2006).  The TNP had planned to send a delegation 
to Georgia in late 2007 to discuss improving anti-TIP 
cooperation, but was delayed due to political events there. 
The delegation is now expected to visit Georgia in March 
¶2008.  The TNP hosted a delegation of Ukrainian experts and 
law enforcement during the reporting period.  Turkish law 
enforcement and judicial authorities cooperate actively with 
other governments in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking cases.  From sustained joint investigations to 
simple information exchanges, such international cooperation 
is extensive and normal.  As reported part 1, septel, the GOT 
also organized and participated actively in numerous regional 
conferences and workshops on TIP. 
 
The TNP reported particularly strong bilateral cooperation 
with Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, but has complained that 
source countries do not always conduct thorough 
investigations of alleged traffickers in response to Turkish 
law enforcement requests.  They also report that source 
country law enforcement officials sometimes interrupt a 
Turkish investigation when asked for investigative 
assistance, and do not always share information.  The GOT 
further notes that identified trafficking victims returning 
to their countries sometimes return to Turkey soon after they 
are returned home, with an intent to engage prostitution, and 
are again victimized.  IOM reported that Georgian victims, in 
particular, often waive the IOM/shelter referral mechanism 
and choose to return across the border directly to Georgia. 
Such victims are more likely to be re-victimized.  The TNP 
has also complained that illegal migrants (as opposed to 
identified victims) returned by Turkey to source countries, 
often claim trafficking victimization when they return home, 
so as to avoid penalties for violating their own countries' 
migration laws. 
 
¶I. (U) The GOT is prohibited by law from extraditing its own 
nationals charged with a crime abroad, including trafficking. 
 
 
The universal jurisdiction norm is recognized by the Turkish 
Criminal Code on the basis of certain offenses and crimes. 
Included in this norm are migrant smuggling and trafficking 
in human beings.  A foreigner or Turkish 
trafficker is indictable and punishable in Turkey.  The 
Turkish Minister of Justice may request a trial process be 
launched in Turkey against an accused person who has already 
been through the legal system in conjunction with these 
offenses in another country. 
 
 
¶J. (SBU) The GOT does not tolerate official involvement in 
trafficking and we have no evidence to suggest such tolerance 
or involvement at senior levels.  There were scattered media 
reports about low-level police and Jandarma officials 
arrested for crimes related to trafficking during the 
reporting period. 
 
¶K. (SBU) MFA reported that between 2004-2007, 32 public 
officials were subject to judicial action for assisting 
traffickers, mediating prostitution and/or accepting bribes. 
 
¶L.  (SBU) The GOT did not report that any Turkish 
peacekeepers deployed abroad were engaged in or facilitated 
severe forms of trafficking or exploited victims of such 
trafficking. 
 
¶M.  (SBU) We do not have evidence suggesting Turkey is a 
source or destination country for organized child sex 
tourism, or that Turkish citizens travel to other countries 
to engage in child sex tourism.  Turkish law severely 
punishes sexual abuse and/or trafficking of minors (see paras 
A and D). 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON