The offense and penalty for obstructing the exercise of the right to petition are regulated in Article 121 of the Turkish Constitution. For the act of obstructing the exercise of the right to petition to be considered a crime, it must be committed by a public official, which indicates that this is a specific offense.
It must not be forgotten that the right to file a petition is a right recognized by the Constitution. Therefore, the unlawful obstruction of the right to file a petition constitutes the offense specified in Article 121 of the Turkish Penal Code.
A petition submitted to an authorized public institution for the purpose of exercising a specific right must not be deemed unlawful due to the crime of obstructing the right to petition. A delay in the acceptance and approval of a petition constitutes the crime of obstructing the right to petition, even if the petition was submitted within the prescribed timeframe.
The mere refusal to accept an oral petition does not constitute the crime of obstructing the right to petition. For this crime to occur, the petition must be submitted in writing, and that petition must be unlawfully refused.
If a petition is rejected for legal reasons or is submitted to an unauthorized body, the crime of obstructing the right to petition does not occur unless this circumstance is taken into account.
If a person’s petition to the competent public authorities to exercise a specific right is rejected without a legal basis, the perpetrator is subject to imprisonment for up to six months. This offense does not apply if the situation occurs in the private sector.