Compensation for Wrongful Detention in Turkey: Claims After Acquittal or Release

A person who was arrested or held in pre-trial detention in Turkey (Türkiye) and was then acquitted, or against whom the prosecutor decided not to prosecute, can claim compensation from the State for the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage suffered (Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, Art. 141(1)(e)). The same applies to unlawful arrest or detention, to detention exceeding a reasonable time, to time in custody longer than the sentence finally imposed, and to disproportionate searches and wrongful seizure of property. The claim must be made within three months of notification that the decision has become final, and in any event within one year of the date it became final (Art. 142(1)). Foreigners have this right on the same terms as citizens, and can claim through a lawyer after leaving Turkey.

The deadline is short, the forum changed in 2024, and many foreigners have left the country — often deported — before the acquittal becomes final and never learn that the right exists. This guide explains who can claim, for what, where and when, what amounts are realistically awarded, and the special position of people who were deported after detention.

• Main ground: lawfully arrested or detained, then not prosecuted or acquitted (Art. 141(1)(e)).
• Other grounds: unlawful arrest or detention; not brought before a judge in time; rights not explained; unreasonable length; custody longer than the sentence; disproportionate search; wrongful seizure (Art. 141(1)).
• Deadline: three months from notification of finality; one year from finality at the latest (Art. 142(1)).
• Where: the heavy penal court of the claimant's place of residence — or, since 2024, the Compensation Commission for claims based on acquittal, non-prosecution and excess custody (Art. 142(2)).
• What: pecuniary loss and non-pecuniary damages, with lawyer's fees.
• Who pays: the State Treasury.
• Excluded: cases ended by amnesty, withdrawal of complaint or settlement; lack of criminal capacity; those who caused their own detention by a false confession (Art. 144).
• Recovery: compensation is reclaimed if the person is later convicted in the same matter (Art. 143).

Legal status of this guide. It reflects Articles 141–144 of the Criminal Procedure Code as amended by Law No. 7499 of March 2024, which transferred some categories of claim to the Compensation Commission established by Law No. 6384. The Commission's procedure is set by its own legislation and should be checked at the time of filing. Last updated: October 2026.

In this guide

• The grounds for compensation
• Detention followed by acquittal or non-prosecution
• Unlawful arrest and detention
• Searches and seized property
• Who cannot claim
• The deadline
• Where and how to apply
• What can be claimed and what is awarded
• Foreign claimants and deportees
• Related remedies
• Frequently asked questions

The grounds for compensation

Article 141(1) lists the situations in which a person may claim all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage from the State during a criminal investigation or prosecution. Those who:

Ground	Situation
(a)	were arrested, detained or kept in detention outside the conditions laid down by law
(b)	were not brought before a judge within the statutory custody period
(c)	were detained without being reminded of their legal rights, or without their request to use those rights being met
(d)	were lawfully detained but not brought before the trial court within a reasonable time and not given a judgment within that time
(e)	were lawfully arrested or detained and then received a decision of non-prosecution or an acquittal
(f)	were convicted but spent longer in custody and detention than the sentence, or were necessarily sentenced only to a fine because that was the only penalty provided for the offence
(g)	were not informed, in writing or where that was not immediately possible orally, of the reasons for arrest or detention and of the charges
(h)	whose arrest or detention was not notified to their relatives
(i)	whose search warrant was executed in a disproportionate manner
(j)	whose property or assets were seized without the conditions being met, or were not protected, or were used for other purposes, or were not returned in time
(k), (l)	who were not able to use the remedies provided against arrest, judicial control or detention; and the further case added in 2024 concerning judicial control

The list is exhaustive: a claim must fit one of these heads. But they are cumulative — a person unlawfully searched, held beyond the custody limit and later acquitted may rely on each.

Detention followed by acquittal or non-prosecution

Ground (e) is the most used and the simplest. It does not require any fault on the part of the police, prosecutor or judge. The detention may have been perfectly lawful when ordered. The State is liable because a person was deprived of liberty in proceedings that did not end in conviction.

What must be shown:

• that the claimant was arrested, taken into custody or held in pre-trial detention — the dates are taken from the police record, the detention order and the release document;
• that the investigation ended in a decision of non-prosecution, or the trial in an acquittal;
• that the decision is final.

Every day counts, including a single night in police custody. Time under house arrest counts as deprivation of liberty. Since 2024, judicial control measures also feature in the provisions, reflecting that restrictions short of detention can ground a claim in defined circumstances.

Partial outcomes need care. Where a person was detained on several charges and acquitted of some but convicted of others, compensation depends on whether the detention can be attributed to the charge that failed, and whether the time is credited against the sentence imposed. Where detention exceeded the sentence finally imposed, ground (f) gives a claim for the excess.

Unlawful arrest and detention

Grounds (a) to (d), (g) and (h) concern defects in the measure itself and do not depend on the outcome of the case. A person who is eventually convicted can still claim under them. Examples:

• detention ordered without the strong suspicion and grounds the Code requires, or for an offence for which detention is not permitted;
• custody that exceeded the statutory maximum before the person was brought before a judge;
• questioning without the reminder of rights — silence, a lawyer, notification of relatives — or refusal of a requested lawyer;
• for foreigners in particular: not being told the reasons for arrest in a language they understand, no interpreter, relatives or the consulate not informed;
• pre-trial detention that lasted unreasonably long before judgment.

These claims require proof of the defect from the investigation file. They can be raised once the measure has ended, and in principle need not await the end of the trial; the time limit is nevertheless counted from the final decision in the case, so they are usually brought together with any claim under ground (e). The rights whose breach gives rise to these claims are set out in our guide to being arrested in Turkey as a foreigner.

Searches and seized property

Compensation is also available where a search warrant was executed disproportionately — damage to a home or business, a search far beyond what the warrant allowed — and where property or other assets were seized without the legal conditions, were not properly looked after, were used for a purpose other than the intended one, or were not returned in time (Art. 141(1)(i), (j)).

For foreigners the typical cases are cash, telephones, computers, vehicles and bank accounts held for months or years in an investigation that ended without conviction; a business closed or stock spoiled during seizure; and a vehicle returned damaged or not at all. The claim covers the loss in value and the loss of use, and should be supported by valuations and by records of requests made for return.

Who cannot claim

Among those lawfully arrested, placed under judicial control or detained, the following cannot claim (Art. 144):

• those whose situation became eligible for compensation only because of a later, more favourable law;
• those in whose case a decision of non-prosecution or discontinuance was given because of a general or special amnesty, withdrawal of the complaint, or settlement (mediation), or whose case was provisionally stayed, suspended or dropped;
• those against whom no penalty was imposed for lack of criminal capacity;
• those who caused their own arrest, judicial control or detention by falsely stating before the judicial authorities that they had committed or taken part in the offence.

Two practical consequences. First, how a case ends matters: a complainant's withdrawal, a mediation settlement or a prepayment that closes the file is not an acquittal, and extinguishes the compensation claim for the detention. A defendant with a strong case and a significant period of detention behind him or her should weigh that before agreeing to end the case by one of those routes. Second, what was said in the first statement matters: a false confession made to protect someone else or to get out of the police station bars the claim.

The exclusions apply to those who were lawfully detained. A person whose detention was unlawful under grounds (a) to (d) can claim even if the case ended by amnesty or settlement.

Compensation paid is not always final. If a decision of non-prosecution is later lifted and the person is prosecuted and convicted, or an acquittal is overturned on retrial and replaced by a conviction, the part of the compensation corresponding to the period of the sentence is recovered (Art. 143). Where the detention was caused by another person's slander or false testimony, the State has recourse against that person.

The deadline

A compensation claim may be made within three months of notification to the person concerned that the decision or judgment has become final, and in any event within one year of the date on which the decision or judgment became final (Art. 142(1)).

• Finality, not release. The period does not start when the person is released, nor when the acquittal is pronounced, but when it becomes final — after any appeal by the prosecution or a complainant is decided or the time for appeal passes.
• Notification of finality. The three months run from the day the person is formally notified that the decision is final. Courts are expected to serve this notice; in practice it is often not served, or is sent to an old address.
• The one-year long-stop runs regardless of notification. A person who never hears that the acquittal is final loses the claim a year after finality.
• Non-prosecution decisions become final when the period for objecting to the criminal judgeship of peace expires or the objection is rejected.

For someone who has left Turkey this means one thing: appoint a lawyer to monitor the file and to file within the period. Checking after two years is too late.

Where and how to apply

The forum

The claim is decided by the heavy penal court of the place where the injured person resides; if that court was connected with the measure complained of and there is no other heavy penal chamber in the same place, by the nearest heavy penal court (Art. 142(2)).

Since the amendment of March 2024, however, claims under grounds (e), (f) and (l) — detention followed by non-prosecution or acquittal, custody exceeding the sentence, and the related judicial-control case — are dealt with under the Law on the Compensation Commission (Law No. 6384). The Commission is an administrative body attached to the Ministry of Justice that decides on the file; its decisions are subject to judicial review. A claim in these categories wrongly filed with the heavy penal court is forwarded to the Commission, and where a claimant combines claims that belong to the court and to the Commission, the court separates them; the date of filing with the court is treated as the date of the claim.

The remaining grounds — unlawfulness, breach of rights, searches and seizures — stay with the heavy penal court.

The petition

The claimant must state his or her full identity and address, the measure that caused the damage and the nature and amount of the damage, and attach the supporting documents (Art. 142(3)). If the information is insufficient, the court gives one month to complete it and rejects the claim, subject to objection, if this is not done (Art. 142(4)).

Documents to assemble:

• the custody record, detention order, any decisions extending detention, and the release document;
• the non-prosecution decision or acquittal, with the annotation of finality and its date;
• proof of earnings before detention: payslips, contracts, tax returns, business accounts;
• proof of expenses: the defence lawyer's fee agreement and receipts, travel and accommodation costs of family visits, medical bills;
• evidence of non-pecuniary harm: family situation, loss of employment, health and psychological reports, press coverage;
• for foreigners: translated and legalised documents from the home country, and evidence of immigration consequences.

Procedure before the court

The court examines the file and serves a copy of the petition on the Treasury's representative in its district, who has two weeks to respond in writing (Art. 142(5)). The court may gather evidence and usually holds a hearing. Its decision can be appealed by the claimant, the prosecutor and the Treasury. No court fee is charged for filing, and the amount awarded is paid by the Treasury once the decision is final.

What can be claimed and what is awarded

Pecuniary damage

• Loss of earnings for the days of deprivation of liberty. Where income is documented, the actual net loss; where it is not, courts calculate on the basis of the net minimum wage for the period. Undocumented higher earnings are rarely accepted — which bears hard on foreigners who worked informally or whose income was abroad and is not properly evidenced.
• The defence lawyer's fee in the criminal case. Courts award it within limits, often by reference to the official minimum fee tariff rather than the amount actually agreed.
• Other proven costs directly caused by the detention.

Non-pecuniary damage

A sum for the distress, loss of reputation and disruption of family and working life. The Law sets no scale. Courts consider the length of detention, the nature of the accusation, the person's social and economic position, the effect on family and career, and the conditions of detention. The Court of Cassation insists that the amount must be fair without amounting to enrichment, and reduces awards it finds excessive.

Realistic expectations

Awards are modest by the standards of many other countries, especially for short periods of custody, and they are made in Turkish lira, which matters where proceedings last years. Interest runs from the date of the claim. The value of bringing the claim is not only the money: the decision is an official acknowledgment that the detention was unjustified, which can be used with employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies abroad.

Acquitted or released without charge after detention in Turkey? The claim must be filed within three months of notice that the decision is final, and within one year at the latest. Send the decision and your detention dates. Message Yayla Law on WhatsApp or use the contact form.

Foreign claimants and deportees

• Equal right. Article 141 speaks of "persons", without distinction of nationality or residence status.
• Which court, if you live abroad? The Code refers to the claimant's place of residence. A claimant with no residence in Turkey files, in practice, at the place where the measure was taken, or — for the grounds transferred in 2024 — with the Commission. A lawyer files under a power of attorney that expressly authorises the compensation claim; see our guide to powers of attorney for Turkey.
• Deported before the acquittal. Many foreign defendants are released from detention, handed to the migration authorities and deported while the criminal case is still pending. The case continues in their absence; if it ends in acquittal, the right to compensation arises although the person is abroad and may know nothing of it. Keep a lawyer on the criminal file until it is final.
• Administrative detention is different. Time spent in a removal centre under an administrative detention order is not custody "during a criminal investigation or prosecution", and Articles 141–144 do not apply to it. Unlawful administrative detention is challenged before the criminal judgeship of peace while it lasts, and compensation is sought through a full-remedy action against the administration in the administrative courts, and ultimately by individual application to the Constitutional Court. See our guides to administrative detention in removal centres and the individual application to the Constitutional Court.
• Using the acquittal for your status. A final acquittal is the basis for asking the migration authorities to lift an entry ban or restriction code imposed because of the investigation, and for a new visa or residence application. See our guides to entry bans and restriction codes.
• Legal aid is available to claimants without means, subject to the conditions described in our guide to legal aid in Turkey.

Related remedies

• During detention: objection to the detention order and periodic review; a request for release under judicial control. See our guide to judicial control and travel bans.
• Individual application to the Constitutional Court for violation of the right to liberty, within thirty days of exhausting remedies. Where the complaint is one for which the compensation claim under Article 141 is an effective remedy, that claim must be used first.
• European Court of Human Rights, after the Constitutional Court.
• Against the person who caused the detention: a criminal complaint for slander and a civil claim for damages where the proceedings were set in motion by a knowingly false accusation.
• Unlawful conduct by officials — ill-treatment, abuse of office — is a matter for a criminal complaint and separate compensation proceedings.
• Record. An acquittal is not entered in the criminal record; check that no trace remains in the other systems described in our guide to criminal records in Turkey.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get compensation if I was detained in Turkey and then acquitted?

Yes. A person lawfully arrested or detained who is then acquitted, or not prosecuted, can claim pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages from the State, without having to show that anyone was at fault.

What is the deadline?

Three months from notification that the acquittal or non-prosecution decision has become final, and in any event one year from the date it became final.

Where do I apply?

Claims based on acquittal, non-prosecution or excess custody go to the Compensation Commission under the 2024 amendment; claims based on unlawful detention, breach of rights, searches and seizures go to the heavy penal court.

How much compensation is awarded?

Loss of earnings — at the documented rate or, failing proof, the minimum wage — the defence lawyer's fee within limits, and a discretionary sum for non-pecuniary damage that depends on the length of detention and its consequences.

Does one night in police custody count?

Yes. Any period of custody or detention in a criminal investigation that ended without conviction can ground a claim, though the amount will reflect the short duration.

Can a foreigner claim after leaving or being deported?

Yes, through a lawyer in Turkey under a power of attorney. The right does not depend on nationality or presence.

My case was dropped because the complainant withdrew. Can I claim?

Not for lawful detention: cases ended by withdrawal of complaint, settlement or amnesty are excluded. A claim remains possible if the detention itself was unlawful.

Can I claim for time in a removal centre?

Not under these provisions. Administrative detention is challenged before the criminal judgeship of peace, and compensation is sought in the administrative courts.

Can the State take the money back?

Yes, if the non-prosecution decision is later lifted or the acquittal overturned and you are convicted in the same matter.

Legal basis and sources

• Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, Articles 141–144 — official consolidated text at mevzuat.gov.tr.
• Law No. 6384 on the Duties and Working Procedures of the Compensation Commission.
• Law No. 7499 of 2 March 2024 (amendments to Articles 141, 142 and 144).
• Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye, Article 19; European Convention on Human Rights, Article 5(5).

This article provides general legal information on Turkish law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. The deadline runs from the finality of the decision in each case and should be calculated on the court file.