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FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 ANKARA 000274 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR: G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/SE, EUR/PGI; DEPT 
FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY: 9TH ANNUAL TIP REPORT: INVESTIGATION AND 
PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
REF: A. 08 SECSTATE 132759 
     ¶B. 08 ANKARA 1709 
     ¶C. ANKARA 98 
     ¶D. 08 ANKARA 2194 
 
¶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) Article 80 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) 
specifically defines human trafficking as a crime 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 and, at judicial discretion, an additional 
financial penalty equivalent of up to 730 days.  (According 
to the TPC, a judicial fine is an amount payable to the State 
Treasury by the offender, which is calculated, unless 
otherwise stated in the law, by multiplying the identified 
number of days, which shall be more than five but not more 
than 730, with a daily amount that shall be at least twenty 
Turkish lira ($15) or, at most, 100 Turkish lira and shall be 
determined having regard to the personal and economic 
conditions of the person.)  Trafficking crimes are also 
prosecuted under statutes on Organized Crime (TPC Article 
220), Sexual Assault (TPC Article 102), Mediating for 
Prostitution (TPC Article 227), Misuses of Public Duty (TPC 
Article 257), Bribery and Extortion (TPC Article 250 and 
252), Deprivation of Liberty (TPC Article 109), Threatening 
an Individual (TPC Article 106), Money Laundering (TPC 
Article 282), and miscellaneous labor and other laws. 
 
TPC 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 continue): 
 
TPC 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 
 
ANKARA 00000274  002 OF 006 
 
 
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. 
 
TPC Article 227:  Prostitution: 
 
(1)   Any person who encourages a child to become a 
prostitute, facilitates a child becoming such or supplies or 
accommodates a child for such purpose, or acts as an 
intermediary for the prostitution of a child, shall be 
sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of four to 
ten years and judicial fine equivalent of up to five thousand 
days' imprisonment. 
 
(2)   Any person who encourages another to become a 
prostitute or who facilitates or acts as an intermediary for 
such or who provides and environment for such a purpose shall 
be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of two 
to four years and a judicial fine equivalent of up to three 
thousand days.  Earning a living, totally or partially, from 
the proceeds of prostitution shall be presumed to be an 
encouragement to prostitution. 
 
(3)   Paragraph was annulled by article 45 of the law 
5560-06.12.2006 (the Article 80 amendment) 
 
(4)   The penalty to be imposed according to the 
aforementioned sections shall be doubled where a person is 
encouraged to engage in acts of prostitution or secures an 
individual to engage in prostitution through the use of 
threat, violence, deceit, or by taking advantage of another's 
desperation. 
 
(5)   The penalty to be imposed according to the 
aforementioned sections shall be increased by one half where 
the offense is committed by a spouse, direct-antecedents, 
direct antecedents-in-law, sibling, adopting parent, 
guardian, trainer, educator, nurse, or any other person 
responsible for the protection and supervision of a person, 
or by a public officer or employee who misuses the influence 
derived from their positions. 
 
(6)   The penalty to be imposed according to the 
aforementioned sections shall be increased by one half where 
the offense is committed in the course of the activities of a 
criminal organization. 
 
(7)   Legal entities shall be subject to security measures 
for involvement in these offenses. 
 
(8)   Any person who has been forced into prostitution may be 
given treatment or psychological therapy. 
 
Under 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. 
 
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 
 
ANKARA 00000274  003 OF 006 
 
 
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) TPC Article 80 penalties of 8-12 years' imprisonment 
apply to both traffickers of human beings for purposes of 
sexual exploitation and/or 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 (MOL) 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.  Law 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 threaten 
"general health and/or morals."  MOL undertakes active 
investigations of illegally employed foreigners during the 
reporting period.  MOL officials have received TIP-detection 
training; the TNP Foreigners Police, which processes all 
foreigners apprehended in Turkey, screens illegal foreign 
workers before deportation for evidence of trafficking. 
 
¶D. (U) TPC Part 6 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.  TPC Part 6 is commonly utilized 
to prosecute traffickers. 
 
Part 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. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000274  004 OF 006 
 
 
(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.  (SBU) ***Complete 2008 law enforcement statistics were 
unavailable by the reporting deadline.  Post will report 
these statistics in a supplemental cable as soon as they are 
received.  MOJ issued us preliminary data on the first two 
quarters of 2008, indicating that about 100 traffickers were 
prosecuted in the first half of 2008 -- a rate comparable to 
or exceeding last year's.  We have heard informally that, 
through the first three quarters, at least ten prosecutions 
occurred under the amended Article 80 (8-12 years' 
imprisonment) and dozens more under related statutes (usually 
averaging 3-4 years' imprisonment).*** 
 
¶F.  (U) MOJ and MOI (Turkish National Police and Jandarma) 
have institutionalized TIP-related training in their service 
training.  TNP estimates that TIP-specific training has 
reached over 5,000 officers since 2004.  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).  Through an EC-funded project, IOM trained 
30 security officials and 40 judges during the summer of 2008 
as TIP "trainers."  By the end of 2009, these trainers will 
have trained 300 judges and prosecutors and 290 security 
officials in, focusing as appropriate, victim identification, 
national and international regulations, international 
coordination, victim sensitivity, NGO cooperation, 
investigative techniques, data collection and database 
management (ref B).  Fifty law enforcement officers have 
already received this four-day "cascade" training from the 
new trainers and 40 judges and prosecutors will receive the 
training during the last week of February 2009. 
 
¶G.  (SBU) The GOT has concluded MOUs or Protocols on TIP with 
 
ANKARA 00000274  005 OF 006 
 
 
the following countries:  Belarus (2004), Georgia (2005), 
Ukraine (2005), Moldova (2006), and Kyrgyzstan (2006).  GOT 
and source country officials regularly exchange visits. 
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 particularly 
good, according to our contacts, with Ukraine.  The GOT has 
reported to us that it is working with its regional partners 
to establish English as a lingua franca for information 
exchange on trafficking cases; requests made in source 
country languages often require translation that is not 
readily available.  The GOT also organizes and participates 
actively in numerous regional conferences and workshops on 
TIP.  For example, the GOT hosted, in partnership with IOM, a 
judicial assistance seminar in Istanbul November 27-28, 2008. 
 The goal was to increase the number of victims identified by 
regional authorities and support the investigation and 
prosecution of trafficking crime.  Representatives from 
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, 
Romania, Ukraine and the European Commission participated. 
The State Minister for Women's Affairs hosted a regional NGO 
conference on strengthening civil society's contribution to 
the fight against TIP. 
 
¶H.  (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. 
 
¶I.  (SBU) The GOT does not tolerate official involvement in 
trafficking and we have no evidence to suggest such tolerance 
or involvement at senior levels.  However, there were 
incidents of security officials' involved in TIP. 
 
¶J.  (SBU) According to data furnished by the TNP, 25 security 
officials were subject to investigation in 2008 for assisting 
traffickers, mediating prostitution and/or turning a blind 
eye to prostitution.  One was a first class chief constable; 
six were superintendents; seven were chief inspectors, 
inspectors or deputy inspectors.  Three were expelled from 
duty even though criminal charges against two of those three 
were dropped.  Two more have been suspended from duty 
following an internal investigation, while one has been 
suspended from duty while the investigation continues.  The 
rest of the investigations are proceeding in #etQ4(QQxP,e1Q;/Quty. 
 
¶K.  (SBU) 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.  The number of legal brothels has reportedly decreased 
under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) which 
also governs most large cities, including Istanbul.  Local 
experts do not believe legal brothels contribute 
substantially to TIP in Turkey (ref C, D). 
 
¶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 
trafficking. 
 
¶M.  (SBU) We do not have evidence suggesting Turkey is a 
 
ANKARA 00000274  006 OF 006 
 
 
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 
 
Jeffrey