Seizure is possible, but the Law divides it into two levels and the difference between them is large: three copies, or the whole run.
First Level: At Most Three Copies
Art. 25/1 of Law No. 5187: a public prosecutor - and, in cases where delay is prejudicial, the law enforcement authorities - may seize at most three copies of any printed work as evidence for an investigation.
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Number | At most three |
| Purpose | As evidence |
| Competent authority | The public prosecutor |
| Exception | Law enforcement where delay is prejudicial |
Second Level: Seizing the Whole Run
The second paragraph opens a much narrower door. Two conditions are sought together for seizing the whole run:
- That an investigation or prosecution has been commenced
- That the act is one of the offences enumerated in the article
In enumerating those offences the article refers to: Law No. 5816 on Offences Committed Against Atatürk, the reform laws listed in Art. 174 of the Constitution, certain articles of Turkish Penal Code No. 765, and the second and fifth paragraphs of Art. 7 of Anti-Terror Law No. 3713.
Publications Printed Abroad
The third paragraph governs a separate case: where there is strong evidence that periodicals or non-periodicals and newspapers printed outside Turkey, in whatever language, contain the offences in the second paragraph, their distribution or offering for sale in Turkey may be prohibited by decision of a magistrate on the request of the public prosecutor's office.
| Stage | Period | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Where delay is prejudicial | A decision of the public prosecutor's office is sufficient | - |
| Submission of the decision for judicial approval | Within twenty-four hours at the latest | - |
| Judicial approval | Within forty-eight hours | If not approved, the prosecutor's decision becomes void |
The fourth paragraph adds a liability rule: those who knowingly distribute or offer for sale prohibited publications or newspapers are liable, for offences committed through those publications, as if they were the author.
Constitutional Protection: Press Equipment
Art. 30 of the Constitution provides a strong shield: a printing house and its annexes established as a press enterprise in accordance with the law, together with press equipment, may not be seized or confiscated, or prevented from operating, on the ground that they are instruments of crime.
Constitution Art. 28: The Procedure for Confiscation
Art. 28 of the Constitution draws the procedure: periodicals and non-periodicals may be seized by decision of a judge where an investigation or prosecution of the offences indicated by law has been commenced. In cases where delay is prejudicial from the point of view of the integrity of the State, national security, public order, public morals and the prevention of crime, seizure may be carried out on the order of the authority expressly empowered by law; that authority notifies its decision to a judge within twenty-four hours, and if the judge does not approve it within forty-eight hours the decision becomes void.
Damaging Press Equipment Is a Separate Offence
Art. 22 of Law No. 5187 provides protection in the opposite direction: a person who destroys or damages lawfully printed works with the aim of preventing their publication, distribution or sale is punished with imprisonment of up to one year; a person who prevents their printing, publication, distribution or sale by violence or threat is punished with imprisonment of up to two years.
Summary
- At most three copies may be seized as evidence by a public prosecutor, or by law enforcement where delay is prejudicial.
- Seizing the whole run is possible only where an investigation or prosecution has been commenced, for the offences listed in the article, and by decision of a judge.
- Under Art. 30 of the Constitution the printing house and press equipment may not be seized as instruments of crime.