Since material truth is investigated in criminal procedure, everything is considered evidence. This is a result of the principle of freedom of evidence. However, methods that are unlimited, contrary to the rules of law and violate the rights of the accused cannot be followed in order to reach the material truth in criminal procedure. The purpose of the criminal procedure is to reach the material truth about the concrete incident that occurred and to ensure that the incident is proved with evidence in a way that leaves no room for doubt. At the stage of prosecution, evidence is the necessary means of proof for the proof of the concrete event that occurred and for the opinion of the judge.
The evidence that can be used for proof in criminal proceedings must represent the incident. The evidence representing the event must be in accordance with reason, material reality and the law.
ILLEGAL EVIDENCE
In order to reach the material truth and prevent the disregard of legal Decrees, the evidence must be in compliance with the law and collected by legitimate methods. In this context, the evidence obtained illegally cannot be taken as a basis for the judgment; it cannot and should not affect the conscientious opinion of the judge. The prohibitions imposed on obtaining evidence in violation of the law are called ‘evidentiary prohibitions’. However, the evidence obtained by unlawful evidence will not be able to get rid of being unlawful because it is also affected by this violation.
CMK m.according to Article 148/3, evidence obtained through prohibited procedures cannot be accepted as evidence, even if consent has been given. However, the statement of the person whose statement and confession were taken during the unlawful arrest, arrest and forcible removal measures should also be considered as unlawful evidence and should not be used in the trial.
TYPES OF EVIDENCE IN A CRIMINAL CASE
The Decrees are divided into categories among themselves. Although there are various classifications, the evidence that proves the main event that the court must resolve is called direct evidence, and the evidence that describes side events related to the main event that needs to be decided is called indirect or symptom evidence. In addition, it is possible to classify witnesses, defendants, experts whose source is a person, and evidence whose source is an object document and a symptom as indirect evidence.
Our law has adopted the conscientious evidence system. This system assigns the rights and duties of the research to the judge personally. The judge does not have to be satisfied with the evidence put forward by the prosecution and defense authorities. The court may provide for the spontaneous investigation of the evidence.
It should be remembered that not every point put forward in a case needs to be proven. The judge will decide which of the put forward defenses to investigate and which not to investigate, whether you are eligible for the request or the type of crime. Therefore, the question of which points should be proved is a relative one.
STATEMENTS OF THE ACCUSED
The defendant is obliged to answer all questions about his identity correctly; otherwise, Section 40 of the Misdemeanors Code. he shall be punished according to the article amended by the article. However, apart from this, he was not held responsible for the fact that his answers to the questions asked to him were not correct. The defendant is the one who knows the case best. However, if he thought that he would be punished after the statements he made, it was natural for him to avoid reflecting the truth in his statements about the incident. Because human nature runs away from pain. The Decrees of law have not ignored this fact.
However, while our legal system accepted that it was essential for the defendant to make a confession in the past, this issue is also approached with caution today and more importance is given to the emergence of material truth.
WITNESS STATEMENTS
Anyone who is in a third-person position can be a witness. Anyone who has the ability to understand the subject of the event, reason and convey their impressions/information about this event can be a witness. Even if the witness is mentally ill, a child, a relative or a close person, or has previously been convicted of perjury, this does not prevent the witness from testifying. It is one of the least reliable means of evidence.
The importance of telling the truth to the witness before going to rest, if he does not tell the truth, he will be punished for perjury, he will swear, he will not be able to leave the courtroom without permission.
It is obligatory for the witness to declare his/her identity; this obligation does not change even if he/she has the right to abstain from testifying.
If the evidence consists of witnesses during the trial, it is obligatory to listen to the witnesses during the trial.
Various measures can be taken to protect witnesses in the Turkish Criminal Code. These measures may be in the form of hiding the identity, changing it, or having the opportunity to get rid of the person’s statement. If there is a serious danger for the witness, it is also possible to change and listen to the audio and video of the witness.
Statements of Persons Other Than the Accused and the Witness
Under the title of witnesses without oath, it is accepted in our law that accomplices should also be heard as witnesses.
WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS
All kinds of articles or statements made through them that inform a thought that will prove the event that constitutes the subject of a lawsuit are evidence of ‘written statements / documents’. These documents may be official documents such as law enforcement agencies, prosecutor’s office, judge’s minutes, as well as letters and similar private writings.
DESCRIPTIONS OF VEHICLES THAT RECORD IMAGES AND SOUNDS
These recordings are documentary evidence and indirectly represent the event. Tapes recording the moment of the event have the opportunity to directly represent the event, and even those with indirect representation can create valuable evidence.
In the examination of whether such means of proof are legal evidence; whether the recording is confidential, whether it was obtained by public officials, whether the place is open to the public, whether the recorded activity is open to the public, etc. it is necessary to pay attention to the issues that present differences.
Both the universal legal rules and the Constitution, the individual’s private life and the right to communication are placed under absolute protection. These rights may be suspended by a judge’s decision in the following cases:
In the presence of a strong suspicion of a crime,
In order to restore the social peace and tranquility that has been disrupted due to crime,
If there is no possibility of obtaining evidence in any other way.
Although it is certain that no evidence obtained in accordance with the law can be based on the judgment, in any case; audio/video recordings, even if they are duly filled in and stored, do not constitute sufficient evidence for a conviction decision in the doctrine alone. They must be supported by side evidence. But they can carry a symptom nature.
SYMPTOMS
Any means of evidence that, when supported by other evidence, will ensure the conviction or acquittal of the accused is considered a symptom. These include, for example, items found at the crime scene, brake marks, data obtained as a result of a person’s physical examination. The symptoms are very important for Deciphering the material truth in case a connection is established between the auxiliary evidence and the original.
The symptoms directly support the evidence and allow a healthy conclusion to be reached in solving the evidence problem. For example, in sexual crimes, the presence of a biological sample belonging to the suspect on the victim constitutes serious evidence that the suspect was in physical contact with the victim.
ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE
Electronic evidence is concerned if data, records and documents created, modified, transmitted or stored electronically are used or intended to be used to prove an alleged case.
evidence may vary depending on the environment in which they are located, the way they are obtained and their power to prove a concrete event that has taken place. For this reason; sometimes they are evaluated as a document, sometimes as symptom evidence. These evidences should be investigated carefully and supported by other evidences since they are open to outside interference according to other evidences.
After the proof activity is completed, the judge now decides whether the alleged crime was committed by the accused. As a result of the evaluation of the evidence in accordance with the current law, he believes that the conviction that the crime was committed within the scope of the file has been established in the conscience and mind of the judge in such a way as to leave no room for doubt. In this context, in order for the accused to be punished, the accused’s action must be proved in a way that does not create suspicion. Because the execution of sentences, especially in terms of serious criminal cases, can lead to prison sentences that severely restrict freedom.