Bomb Joke at Istanbul Airport Security: TCK 213 Threat Charge

1. Why a Remark at Screening Can Become a Criminal Case

Staff at a screening point may have no way of telling whether a mention of a bomb, a weapon or an attack is meant seriously. A remark that the speaker considered obviously ironic may be heard, repeated and written down by people who did not share the joke, did not see the speaker's face, or did not understand the language well. Once the words are reported, the police may be called and the matter may be referred to the chief public prosecutor's office.

Turkish law does not contain a separate offence of "joking at the airport". The question the prosecutor asks is whether the words and the circumstances meet the elements of an offence in the Penal Code. Two provisions are relevant to threats:

• TCK Article 213, headed "threat for the purpose of creating fear and panic among the public", which sits in the section of the Code on offences against public peace; and
• TCK Article 106, headed "threat", which protects an individual person.

Which provision, if any, fits the facts is not decided at the screening point. It is a legal assessment made in the investigation and, if a case is opened, by the court. What the traveller says in the hours after the remark can become part of the evidence for that assessment, which is why the rights in Sections 4 and 5 below matter.

2. What TCK Article 213 Actually Requires

Article 213 has two paragraphs.

Paragraph 1. A person who publicly threatens life, health, body or sexual integrity, or property, for the purpose of creating anxiety, fear and panic among the public is punished with imprisonment of two to four years.

Paragraph 2. If the offence is committed with a weapon, the penalty to be imposed may be increased by up to one half, according to the nature of the weapon used.

Read closely, paragraph 1 contains several separate elements, and each of them must be present:

1. A threat. The words must amount to a threat directed at life, health, body or sexual integrity, or property.
2. Made publicly. The Turkish word is alenen. The threat must have been made publicly.
3. A specific purpose. The threat must be made for the purpose of creating anxiety, fear and panic among the public. The provision does not punish every frightening statement; it names the purpose the perpetrator must have.

This guide does not go further than the text. Whether a particular sentence, spoken in a particular place and tone, was a threat, was made publicly and was made with that purpose are questions of fact and law that the prosecutor and the court assess on the evidence: what exactly was said, in which language, to whom, who heard it, what happened before and after, and what the speaker did next.

Intent is an element, not an afterthought. Article 21(1) of the Penal Code states that an offence exists only if there is intent (kast), and defines intent as knowingly and willingly bringing about the elements in the legal definition of the offence. Article 21(2) adds a second form, possible intent (olası kast): where a person foresees that the elements of the offence may come about and still commits the act.

For a remark made as a joke, the intent question is central. The prosecutor and the court assess, on the facts, what the speaker knew and wanted when the words were spoken. Nobody can say in advance how that assessment will come out in a given file, and a lawyer who has not seen the file should not predict it. What the traveller can control is not to damage their own position by an unconsidered statement given without advice.

3. Threat Against the Public (TCK 213) and Threat Against a Person (TCK 106)

The ordinary offence of threat is in Article 106 of the Penal Code. It protects an individual, not public peace, and it is structured differently.

Article 106(1). A person who threatens another by saying that he will attack the life, body or sexual integrity of that person or of a relative is punished with imprisonment of six months to two years; where the offence is committed against a woman, the lower limit is nine months. A threat that the person will cause significant harm to property or some other harm is prosecuted on complaint and punished with imprisonment of two to six months or a judicial fine.

Article 106(2). The penalty is imprisonment of two to seven years where the threat is made with a weapon; by a person who makes himself unrecognisable, by an unsigned letter or by special signs; by more than one person together; or by making use of the fear-inspiring power of existing or supposed criminal organisations.

Article 106(3). If intentional killing, intentional injury or damage to property is committed for the purpose of the threat, a penalty is also imposed under the provisions on those offences.

The practical difference for a traveller is conciliation (uzlaştırma). Under Article 253(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK, Law No. 5271), in the offences listed there an attempt is made to reconcile the suspect with the victim or the person harmed by the offence. The list in CMK Article 253(1)(b) includes threat under TCK Article 106(1). TCK Article 213 is not on that list. So even though both provisions concern threats, conciliation is a route the Code provides for the first and not for the second.

4. If You Are Held: Custody Limits and the Criminal Judge of Peace

A remark reported at screening may lead to the traveller being apprehended and taken to the police. Article 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure sets the limits of what can follow.

1. Custody is a decision, not an automatic step. If the chief public prosecutor's office does not release the apprehended person, it may decide that the person is taken into custody (gözaltı) to complete the investigation (Art. 91(1)). Custody depends on the measure being necessary for the investigation and on concrete evidence showing a suspicion that the person committed an offence (Art. 91(2)).
2. Twenty-four hours. The custody period may not exceed twenty-four hours from the moment of apprehension, excluding the time needed to send the person to the nearest judge or court; that transfer time may not exceed twelve hours (Art. 91(1)). Article 91(3) contains separate extension rules for offences committed collectively; whether any extension applies is a matter for the file.
3. Challenge before the criminal judge of peace. Against the prosecutor's written order on apprehension, custody or extension of custody, the apprehended person, their lawyer or legal representative, their spouse, or a blood relative of the first or second degree may apply to the criminal judge of peace (sulh ceza hâkimi) for immediate release. The judge examines the application on the papers and decides immediately and at the latest before twenty-four hours have passed (Art. 91(5)). If the judge considers the measure justified, the application is rejected or the judge orders that the person be brought without delay, with the investigation file, before the prosecutor's office.
4. Brought before the judge. If the person in custody is not released, at the latest at the end of these periods they are brought before the criminal judge of peace and questioned, and the lawyer is also present at that questioning (Art. 91(7)).

What the judge then decides depends on the file. This guide does not predict it.

5. Your Rights Before You Say Anything: CMK 147, 202 and 324

Before a suspect gives a statement (ifade) to the police or the prosecutor, or is questioned by the judge, Article 147(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires these steps:

• Identity. Your identity is established. You are obliged to answer questions about your identity truthfully.
• The accusation. The offence you are accused of is explained to you.
• A lawyer. You are told that you have the right to choose a lawyer (müdafi), to benefit from the lawyer's legal help, and that the lawyer may be present at the statement or questioning. If you cannot choose a lawyer and want one, the bar appoints one for you.
• A relative is informed. A relative of your choice is informed without delay that you have been apprehended (subject to Article 95).
• The right to remain silent. You are told that you have the legal right not to make a statement about the accusation.
• Evidence in your favour. You are reminded that you may ask for concrete evidence to be collected to clear the suspicion, and you are given the opportunity to remove the grounds of suspicion against you and to put forward the points in your favour.
• The record. The statement is recorded in a written record (tutanak). The record states that it was read by the person giving the statement and by the lawyer present, and that their signatures were taken; if you refuse to sign, the reasons are written down.

For a foreign traveller, language is the next issue. Under Article 202(3), the rules on interpretation also apply to suspects, victims and witnesses heard during the investigation, and at that stage the interpreter is appointed by the judge or the public prosecutor. Under Article 324(5), the costs of an interpreter appointed for a suspect, accused, victim or witness who does not know Turkish are not counted as costs of the proceedings and are borne by the State Treasury.

The record of your statement will be read later by people who never heard your voice or saw your face. If a joke is the heart of the file, the exact words, the context and your explanation will matter, and they should be given once, through an interpreter you understand, with a lawyer present if you want one. You can read more in our guides to giving a statement at Istanbul Airport and to police custody rights in Türkiye. If you have already been taken from the terminal, see also what happens at the police station after an airport arrest.

6. TCK 213, TCK 106(1) and TCK 106(2) Side by Side

The table sets out the text only. Which provision, if any, applies to a remark at screening is assessed on the facts by the prosecutor and the court.

7. What To Do in the First Hours: A Practical Checklist

1. Stay calm and do not repeat the joke. Do not rephrase it, explain it with a new joke or argue about whether it was funny. Every sentence may be written down.
2. Say clearly that you want a lawyer. Article 147 gives you the right to choose one and to have them present at the statement; if you cannot choose one and want one, the bar appoints one.
3. Ask for an interpreter if your Turkish is not good enough. Article 202(3) applies during the investigation, and under Article 324(5) the interpreter's costs are borne by the Treasury.
4. Remember that silence is a legal right. You may decline to make a statement about the accusation (Art. 147(1)(e)). You must still answer questions about your identity truthfully.
5. Do not sign what you do not understand. The record is read and signed; if you refuse to sign, the reasons are written in it. Ask for it to be read to you in a language you understand.
6. Name a relative to be informed. Article 147 provides that a relative of your choice is told that you have been apprehended.
7. Keep every document you are given and note the names of the offices involved, so that a lawyer can find the file.
8. Let someone apply for you if needed. Your lawyer, spouse or a blood relative of the first or second degree may challenge the prosecutor's written order on custody before the criminal judge of peace (Art. 91(5)).

If you or someone close to you is in this situation at Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen, a lawyer can explain the rights above in your language and look at what is in the file. Guidance can start on WhatsApp.