There are two categories of disappearance of children :
- The children are kidnapped for taking ransom or getting benefits (Article ).
- The children run away from home or are lost because of unsatisfied family relations or
irrelevance of parents. In such case parents have the responsibilities.
Turkey compiles monthly and annual statistics on missing children but no details have
been received about them.
The cases of parental abduction and kidnapping by unknown persons are treated as cases
of missing children.
Article 179, Chapter 3 'Felonies against personal liberty' of the Turkish
Criminal Code :
" Whoever illegally deprives another person of his personal
liberty shall be imprisoned for not more than five years and shall be fined
not more than 50 liras.
If, before or during the commission of this felony the offender threatens
or treats badly, or uses fraud or ruse, or commits the offense with motives
of vengeance or benefit, or with national or religious purposes, or delivers
the victim to a foreign country to be used in military service, he shall
be punished by heavy imprisonment for three to eight years and shall be
fined from 25 to 125 liras. "
Article 180, Chapter 3 'Felony against personal liberty' of the Turkish
Criminal Code :
" Where the felony defined in the foregoing article is committed
against one's descendant, wife or husband ..., or if the act causes damage
to the body or health or property of the victim, the offender shall be punished
by heavy imprisonment for not less than five years nor more than fifteen
years and shall be fined from 40 to 200 liras.
If prior to initiation of prosecution, the perpetrator sets the victim
free of his own volition before completing his purpose or causing him any
harm, his punishment shall be reduced by one sixth to one half. "
Article , Chapter 3 'Felonies against personal liberty' of the Turkish
Criminal Code :
" Whoever, with no sexual desire or intention of marriage,
kidnaps with his consent a minor who has not reached the age of 15, from
his mother or father or guardian or from persons who even temporarily support
or take care of him, or whoever unjustly detains such a minor with his consent,
shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year.
If the above mentioned offense is committed contrary to the minors will,
or if the minor has not attained the age of 13, the provisions of the foregoing
articles, as will suit the case, shall be applied. "
Also the articles 272-273 of Civil Code regulates the responsibilities of
the parents.
Turkey has not got a police department responsible solely for dealing with cases of
missing children.
The criteria to determine the level of publication of the disappearance of
a child (national, regional or international) is in fact the conditions of
the disappearance as kidnapping, abduction or bringing away the children without
the consent of their parents of the persons who have the responsibility for
looking after.
The case is reported to the Public Prosecutors Office and Public Prosecutor
gives instructions the police and investigations are started.
Turkey has a central police file for reporting cases of missing children.
In order to circulate reports of missing children, their pictures are
published :
- on television,
- special program are edited in radios/televisions
- brochures that includes their pictures are published,,
- there is, also an association named "Association of Families Whose Relatives
Are Missing",
- Turkish national police has a radio station and the names and descriptions
of missing persons are criculated two times in a week,
Studies on internet about the issue are still going on.
There is a toll-free telephone number for the purpose of registering complaints
and collecting informations : 155
