Turkey considers tougher penalties for domestic spies working for foreign powers

An omnibus bill due to be tabled this week by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) includes a proposed law that better defines the crime of espionage and introduces harsher penalties.

The “Ninth Judicial Package,” as it is colloquially called, involves a set of new laws and regulations aimed at improving Turkey’s legal system.

This comes at a time when espionage activities are intensifying in the country. As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict raged, Türkiye discovered several networks operated by the Mossad in the country. They are accused of recruiting Turkish nationals and people of other nationalities living in the country to spy on Palestinians, particularly those associated with the Hamas resistance group. Earlier this year, authorities also discovered several Syrians working for French intelligence.

The Turkish Penal Code already contains several articles defining espionage activities and the penalties provided for such crimes. The new law will introduce a more comprehensive definition, including “the commission of a crime against the security of the state or the political benefits of the state.” An existing article aims to penalize “the acquisition of information and documents or the publication of such documents/information”, while a new addition to the code will impose prison sentences of three to seven years for those who “commit crimes against state security or against internal or external political advantages.” /interests of the State or of those who commit crimes for the strategic interests of a State or a foreign organization and of those who commit crimes under the orders of a State or a foreign organization. Thus, the perpetrators of such crimes could be sentenced separately.

Prison sentences will be further increased to between eight and 12 years if the crime is committed during wartime or jeopardizes combat readiness, combat effectiveness and military movements of the state. Penalties will be further increased if the crime is committed by persons working on/in projects, facilities and services of strategic importance to national security. The Minister of Justice will be authorized to open investigations into these crimes.