This page summarises what can happen after a court imposes a prison sentence: when the judgment is enforced, which institutions the court may apply instead of imprisonment, and how the time to be spent in prison is determined. The page is based on the publications of Prof. Dr. Murat Volkan Dülger listed at the end. The legislation cited was checked against official sources on 8 November 2026.

A judgment is not enforced before it becomes final

Under Article 4 of Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures, convictions cannot be enforced until they become final. A judgment does not become final if an appeal (istinaf) is lodged in time against the judgment of the court of first instance or, in the cases provided by law, an appeal on points of law (temyiz) is lodged against the decision of the regional court of appeal. During this period the person, as a rule, does not enter prison.

The exception is pretrial detention. A person who is in pretrial detention during the proceedings and whose continued detention is ordered when the judgment is rendered remains in prison; but what continues is detention, not enforcement of the sentence. Periods during which the person's liberty was restricted before the judgment became final, for example police custody and pretrial detention, are deducted from the prison sentence imposed. For a judicial fine, one day is counted as TL 500 (TCK Art. 63).

According to Dülger, credit for time served is mandatory: even if the person caused the restriction of liberty through his or her own fault, the period is deducted from the sentence; the judge's only task is to make the calculation.

What can the court decide instead of a prison sentence?

A court that imposes a prison sentence may, if the conditions are met, apply one of three institutions: deferral of the announcement of the judgment (HAGB), suspension of the sentence, and conversion of a short-term prison sentence into one of the alternative sanctions. These institutions cannot be applied together. A prison sentence in a judgment whose announcement has been deferred cannot be suspended; if it is short-term, it cannot be converted into alternative sanctions either (CMK Art. 231(7)). Because the consequences differ, which institution it would be in the defendant's interest to request should be assessed before the judgment is rendered.

Deferral of the announcement of the judgment (HAGB): CMK Art. 231

If the sentence imposed is imprisonment of two years or less, or a judicial fine, the court may defer the announcement of the judgment. Except for the provisions on confiscation, this means that the judgment rendered produces no legal consequence for the defendant (Art. 231(5)). For the decision to be made, the defendant must not have been previously convicted of an intentional offence, the court must conclude from the defendant's personal characteristics and conduct at the hearing that he or she will not reoffend, and the damage caused by the offence must be fully compensated (Art. 231(6)). If the damage cannot be compensated immediately, the decision may also be made on condition that it is paid in monthly instalments during the supervision period (Art. 231(9)).

According to the Court of Cassation, Plenary Criminal Chamber (Yargıtay Ceza Genel Kurulu, YCGK), the damage to be compensated here is material damage; non-material damage is not covered. The damage also need not be compensated by the defendant personally; compensation by third parties with the defendant's knowledge and consent is sufficient (YCGK, 03.02.2009, E. 2008/11-250, K. 2009/13).

The defendant is subject to a five-year supervision period; for up to one year of this period the court may set probation (supervised release) obligations (Art. 231(8)). If no new intentional offence is committed during the supervision period and the obligations are complied with, the judgment whose announcement was deferred is eliminated and the case is dismissed (Art. 231(10)). If a new intentional offence is committed or the obligations are breached, the court announces the judgment. For a defendant who fails to fulfil the obligations, the court may, after assessing the defendant's situation, order that part of the sentence, up to one half, not be enforced or, if the conditions are met, decide on suspension of the sentence or an alternative sanction (Art. 231(11)).

An appeal (istinaf) may be lodged against a decision to defer the announcement of the judgment (Art. 231(12)). The decision is recorded in a separate system and may be requested only in connection with an investigation or prosecution, by a prosecutor, judge or court (Art. 231(13)). The institution does not apply to the offences of torture and cruel treatment, or to offences committed by a public official because of his or her duty that may amount to ill-treatment within the scope of Article 17 of the Constitution (Art. 231(14)). The article was last amended by Law No. 7589.

According to Dülger, the deferral of the announcement of the judgment is an institution that favours the defendant and that the court must consider of its own motion. If it has not been applied although its conditions are met, this must be explained with concrete reasons.

Suspension of the prison sentence (TCK Art. 51)

A prison sentence of two years or less may be suspended. For persons who had not yet turned eighteen or had completed sixty-five years of age at the time of the offence, this limit is three years. For suspension, the person must not have been previously sentenced to more than three months' imprisonment for an intentional offence, and the court must be convinced, on account of the remorse shown during the proceedings, that the person will not reoffend (Art. 51(1)). Suspension may be made conditional on full compensation of the damage (Art. 51(2)).

For the suspended sentence, a supervision period of not less than one year and not more than three years is set; it cannot be shorter than the sentence imposed (Art. 51(3)). If the supervision period is spent in compliance with the obligations or with good conduct, the sentence is deemed enforced (Art. 51(8)). The difference lies here: in suspension, the conviction has been announced and has become final; even if the sentence is deemed enforced, the judgment does not disappear. By contrast, where the announcement of the judgment is deferred, if the supervision period is spent in compliance with the obligations, the judgment is eliminated and the case is dismissed.

Conversion of short-term prison sentences (TCK Art. 50)

A prison sentence of one year or less is a short-term prison sentence (TCK Art. 49(2)). Taking into account the person's character, social and economic situation, the remorse felt during the proceedings and the circumstances of the offence, the court may convert this sentence into a judicial fine, full compensation of the damage, attendance at an educational institution, a prohibition on going to certain places or engaging in certain activities, withdrawal of a driving licence or other permit, or work of public benefit (Art. 50(1)).

For a person not previously sentenced to imprisonment, a prison sentence of thirty days or less is converted into one of the alternative sanctions, and for persons who had not yet turned eighteen or had completed sixty-five years of age on the date of the offence, a prison sentence of one year or less is so converted; the court has no discretion here (Art. 50(3)). Where the offence definition provides imprisonment or a judicial fine as alternatives and the court has chosen imprisonment, that sentence can no longer be converted into a judicial fine (Art. 50(2)). A prison sentence imposed for negligent offences may be converted into a judicial fine even if it is long-term; this possibility does not exist in cases of conscious negligence (Art. 50(4)).

In prison: conditional release

Enforcement begins when the judgment becomes final. To benefit from conditional release, the person must spend the enforcement period in the institution with good conduct (Law No. 5275 Art. 107(1)). As a rule, half of the sentence must be served in the institution for fixed-term prison sentences, twenty-four years for life imprisonment and thirty years for aggravated life imprisonment (Art. 107(2)). For offences listed in the law, such as intentional killing, sexual assault and offences against private life, this proportion is two thirds; longer periods are separately provided for organised crime and terrorism offences.

A person who is conditionally released is subject to a supervision period. If during this period the person commits an intentional offence requiring a prison sentence, or persists in not complying with his or her obligations despite a warning from the execution judge, the decision on conditional release is revoked (Art. 107(12)).

Enforcement under the measure of probation (supervised release)

A convict with good conduct who is in an open prison or a children's education centre and who has one year or less remaining until conditional release may, on request, serve the part of the sentence up to the date of conditional release outside the prison under the measure of probation (supervised release). The execution judge makes the decision (Law No. 5275 Art. 105/A(1)). Law No. 7550 (2025) added a condition: the convict must have spent in the institution at least one tenth of the period required to be spent there until the date of conditional release, and not less than five days.

The provisional articles of the law may provide different periods depending on the date of the offence. Therefore, when a specific convict will be released must be calculated separately, taking into account the date of the offence and the nature of the conviction.

Assessment

Prof. Dr. Murat Volkan Dülger and colleagues stated in their 2020 article that the enforcement amendments made by Law No. 7242 amounted to a covert amnesty. According to them, if an amnesty is to be granted, it must be done by the route provided in Article 87 of the Constitution. The same article emphasised that attempting to resolve prison overcrowding, a structural problem, and the pandemic, a temporary one, through the same regulation made the enforcement system unjust, unequal and uncertain.

The provisional provisions, which provide different periods according to the date of the offence, still make the enforcement calculation vary from person to person. Deferral of the announcement of the judgment (HAGB), suspension of the sentence and alternative sanctions are institutions that exclude one another and have different consequences. Therefore, in proceedings in which a prison sentence is possible, which institution it would be useful to request and how enforcement would operate in the event of a conviction should be assessed before the judgment is rendered.

Legislation cited

  • Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 (Official Gazette 12.10.2004, No. 25611): Arts. 49, 50, 51, 63.
  • Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271 (Official Gazette 17.12.2004, No. 25673): Art. 231. The article was last amended by Law No. 7589 of 16.07.2026.
  • Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures (Official Gazette 29.12.2004, No. 25685): Arts. 4, 105/A, 107. Article 105/A was amended by Law No. 7550 of 4.6.2025.

Related publications

Status of the law: 8 November 2026. This page provides general information and does not replace advice on a specific case.