Simple Threat Offense (Turkish Criminal Code Article 106/1) – Judgment of Acquittal

The court decisions published in this section were obtained in cases in which Attorney Mert Sönmez personally acted as counsel and defense counsel.

REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE

*** COURT

CASE NO: ***

DECISION NO: ***

REASONING

Assessment of the evidence and reasoning:

There was hostility between the complainant *** and the accused *** due to a debt dispute. On the day of the incident, the accused went to Bursa City Hospital, where the complainants worked, to demand payment of the debt, entered the room where the complainants were present, and began arguing about the matter. A public prosecution was brought before our court seeking punishment on the allegation that the accused threatened both complainants by saying, "May my money stick in your throats; I will show you," and that reconciliation could not be achieved.

Upon joint assessment of the defense of the accused *** throughout the proceedings, the preliminary statements of the complainants *** and ***, the reconciliation report, and all evidence in the case file, the allegation was not found established by our court.

The accused *** did not admit the charge. The accused *** admitted saying to the complainant ***, "May my money stick in your throat." These words are not a threat but a curse. The complainant *** stated that the accused uttered the simple threat "I will show you," but this was not confirmed by the other complainant ***, nor was there any other person who heard it.

Accordingly, there was no evidence other than a single abstract statement of a complainant, unsupported by any other evidence, that the accused *** committed the offense of simple threat against the complainants *** and ***. Since the offense was not established, it was necessary to acquit the accused, and judgment was entered as follows.

JUDGMENT

1-) Although a public prosecution was brought seeking punishment of the accused *** for the offense of simple threat against the complainants *** and ***, since it was not established that the accused committed the charged offense, THE ACCUSED SHALL BE ACQUITTED pursuant to Article 223/2-e of the Code of Criminal Procedure.