MONAHUKUKAntalyaTürkiye

Practice Areas

Criminal Law

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Facing a criminal accusation in Turkey is a heavy experience for anyone, and for a foreign national it becomes far more difficult through the language barrier, distance from home, and unfamiliarity with the Turkish legal system. Our team, serving as criminal defence lawyers in Antalya, stands beside our clients at every stage — from the first statement at the police station or prosecutor's office to the final judgment and any appeal.

Defence in criminal investigations and prosecutions, challenges to detention orders and requests for judicial control, the evaluation of favourable mechanisms such as the deferral of the announcement of the verdict (HAGB), white-collar offences and the criminal liability of company directors, and objections to asset-freeze decisions are among the matters we handle most frequently. We assess each file on its own facts and, together with the client, build the defence with the strongest legal foundation.

Services we offer

  • Defence of suspects and defendants at every stage: statement, prosecutor's office, and trial representation
  • Protection of foreign nationals' rights to an interpreter, consular notification, silence, and counsel
  • Objections to detention orders and requests for judicial control or release
  • Assessment of favourable mechanisms such as HAGB, sentence suspension, and reconciliation
  • White-collar defence for company directors and investors (fraud, breach of trust, tax offences)
  • Judicial review and objection proceedings against MASAK asset-freeze decisions
  • Applications to lift overseas exit bans and restriction (tahdit) code entries
  • Istinaf and temyiz appeals, and representation of crime victims as complainant's counsel

How we work

We begin every matter by examining the incident, the state of the evidence, and the client's position, then determine the defence strategy best suited to the situation. In urgent situations — a statement to be given, a detention hearing, or an exit ban — we intervene immediately, because the first statement often shapes the entire course of the investigation. Where the administrative or first-instance stage is insufficient, we pursue objections and the istinaf and temyiz appeal routes, and where necessary an individual application to the Constitutional Court. Our clients are kept informed at every stage in their own language, with interpreter and consular coordination arranged, and we stand by them at every decision point.

Frequently asked questions

I have been called to the police station or prosecutor's office as a suspect — what should I do?+
Retain a criminal lawyer immediately and give no statement without your lawyer present. As a foreign national, you have the right to a free interpreter and to notification of your consulate. The first statement often determines the course of the investigation, so it should never be given unprepared.
What is HAGB and how does it work?+
HAGB (deferral of the announcement of the verdict), under Article 231 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, allows the court to withhold a conviction for a five-year supervision period in offences carrying two years or less of imprisonment, provided the defendant has no prior intentional conviction and any loss has been remedied. If no intentional offence is committed during that period, the conviction is never formally announced and the case is dismissed.
Can I be detained, and is judicial control an alternative?+
Detention is a last resort, applied only where there is strong suspicion of the offence together with a ground such as flight risk or tampering with evidence. For foreigners, flight risk is often cited; however, the defence can request judicial control instead — measures such as an exit ban, surrender of the passport, or signing in at a police station — by documenting your ties to Turkey.

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