Article 123 of the Turkish Penal Code addresses the offense of disturbing public peace and tranquility.
According to this article, if a person is repeatedly called upon, noise is made, or other unlawful acts are committed for the same purpose, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three months to one year upon the victim’s complaint.
Unlawful conduct may include repeatedly leaving trash in front of a person’s door, throwing stones at the windows of their room, constantly ringing the doorbell, spying on them from a distance with binoculars, holding a mirror up to their face, spying on the victim through a hole without saying a word, or constantly following them by car or on foot, etc. However, as stated in Article 123, since the unlawful conduct was committed only once and then ceased, there can be no question of the act continuing uninterrupted. Furthermore, it cannot be said that the crime specified in the article has been committed.
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The mental element of the crime is that the perpetrator acts with the specific intent to disturb a person’s peace and tranquility.
In cases of disturbing public peace and tranquility, a complaint must be filed within 6 months from the date the persistent behavior in question was last exhibited and from the date information about the person exhibiting this behavior was obtained. Complaints not filed within 6 months cannot be filed later due to the statute of limitations.
If the complaint is filed with the October Chief Prosecutor’s Office, along with the petition and supporting documents, during the relevant period, the matter will be resolved through mediation. If an agreement is reached during the mediation phase, the behavior in question is deemed to have never occurred. In this case, the possibility of compensation cannot be ruled out. If no agreement is reached, the investigation or prosecution continues.
When determining the penalty for the offense, taking into account the manner in which the incident occurred, a prison sentence of between 3 months and 1 year is prescribed, as specified in the text of the provision.