Perjury is classified as a crime against the judiciary in the Turkish Penal Code. According to Article 272 of the TPC, for perjury to occur, a person must make a false statement under oath or affirmation, or give false testimony during an investigation or court proceeding where they are authorized to be heard as a witness. In other words, a person commits perjury when they give a false statement or deny the truth regarding an event they did not participate in or when they provide incomplete or incorrect information during an investigation or court proceeding where they are required to testify as a witness. The legislature has recognized that perjury can occur not only in criminal investigations and prosecutions, but also in civil or administrative investigations. However, if the testimony is given before a "court" or a "person or board authorized to administer oaths," it is considered a aggravated offense and requires a more severe punishment.
The Court of Cassation has established in its precedent rulings that for perjury to occur, both the witness must have testified falsely and the testimony must have been given in front of a person or board authorized to listen to witnesses during an investigation related to an unlawful act, or in front of a court or a person or board authorized to administer an oath. In other words, the crime is committed when a person who is required by law to provide information about an event as a "witness" provides false information, denies the truth, or discloses information about the subject matter that is incomplete or inaccurate. The legislature has acknowledged that perjury can occur not only in criminal investigations and prosecutions but also in civil cases or administrative investigations. However, if the entity taking testimony is a "court" or a "person or board authorized to administer an oath," the act is considered as a qualified offense and requires a more severe penalty.
In determining the penalty to be imposed against the perpetrator of perjury, the result of the perjury act is crucial. The fourth to eighth paragraphs of the article detail how the penalty for the defendant will be arranged depending on the outcome of perjury.
According to the third paragraph of Article 272 of the Turkish Penal Code, a person who commits perjury during the investigation or prosecution of a crime that carries a prison sentence of more than three years shall be punished with imprisonment of two to four years. The legal definition states that if perjury is committed during the investigation or prosecution of a crime that carries a prison sentence of more than three years, it is considered a qualified offense that requires a heavier penalty.
The legislator has regulated that if a person is detained or arrested due to false testimony against them according to Article 272 of the Turkish Penal Code, and if they are acquitted or if the prosecution is dropped, in addition to the crime of perjury, the crime of depriving a person of their freedom will also be considered to have been committed, and the person who committed perjury will be punished as an indirect perpetrator of the crime of depriving a person of their freedom. Therefore, if the person against whom false testimony was made is detained or arrested but is ultimately found guilty and convicted, only the crime of perjury will be considered to have been committed, and the crime of depriving a person of their freedom will not be considered to have been committed if the conditions are not met.
In precedent decisions, the Court of Cassation has emphasized that for the crime of perjury to be considered, it is necessary to determine both that the witness made false testimony and that the testimony was given during the witness's testimony. Therefore, not every false statement made by the witness will constitute the crime of perjury.
The intention of the defendant to deliberately distort the truth is what is important. In other words, a witness's statement with false content due to their own misinterpretation of events is not enough to constitute the crime of perjury. For perjury to occur, the witness must have knowingly distorted the truth, even if the statements they believed to be true were objectively false. Therefore, if a witness has sincerely and completely explained the events as they perceived them, they cannot be considered to have committed perjury. Because falsehood involves intentionally changing the truth, statements made by mistake, negligence, or ignorance do not constitute the elements of the crime of perjury.
Thus, a witness will not be convicted of perjury solely for giving different or conflicting statements in two different courts; intentional creation of inconsistency will be required.