THE CRIME OF COOPERATING WITH THE ENEMY

The crime of cooperating with the enemy is established by Article 303 of TCK(Criminal Code) No. 5237. in its article, the section ”Crimes against the Security of the STATE” is organized as follows:

Cooperating with the enemy

Article 303 – (1) A citizen who accepts service in the army of a state at war with the State of the Republic of Turkey, enters into an armed struggle against the State of the Republic of Turkey alongside an enemy state, is punished with a life imprisonment sentence.

(2) A citizen who performs any command post in the army of an enemy state shall be punished with an aggravated life sentence.

(3) If other crimes are committed during the commission of the crimes defined in the first and second paragraphs, the punishment shall also be imposed for these crimes in accordance with the relevant provisions.

(4) A citizen who is obliged to be on the territory of an enemy state in wartime and to be taken into service in the army of that state shall not be punished for this reason.

According to the text of the article, it is defined as a crime to accept service in the army of a state at war with the State of the Republic of Turkey or to engage in an armed struggle against the State of the Republic of Turkey alongside an enemy state. The perpetrator of this crime can only be a citizen.

In the second paragraph, the performance of any command post in the army of the enemy state is defined as a separate offense. In order for this crime to occur, it is not necessary to be at war with the enemy state. Although it is not yet in a state of war, a state that is engaged in hostile acts against the State of the Republic of Turkey should be considered an enemy state. The perpetrator of this crime can only be a citizen. In order for this crime to occur, the necessary aspect is that a task has been undertaken in the army of the enemy state in the form of managing and being effective in the administration, albeit indirectly.

For example, people may have been killed, intentionally injured, or damage to people or public property during the commission of these crimes. In the third paragraph of the article, it has been agreed that the punishment will also be imposed for these crimes.

According to the fourth paragraph of the article, those who were on the territory of a foreign state before the war and were forced to accept a service provided for by the laws of that state cannot be punished in the fourth paragraph of the article. The fact that no one who is forced to do something really necessarily is held responsible for this is in accordance with the principle of subjective responsibility applicable in criminal law.