WHAT IS THE CRIME OF ROBBERY?
The term robbery is also commonly referred to as “gasp” in practice. The crime of robbery (gasp) occurs when a movable property, which is under someone else’s possession, is seized through the use of force or threats. This offense constitutes an unlawful act against the victim’s property and is punishable by imprisonment under the Turkish Penal Code.
The crime of robbery (gasp) is regulated under Article 148 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 as follows:
(1) A person who, by threatening another individual with harm to their or their relative’s life, physical or sexual integrity, or with significant damage to their property, or by using force, compels them to hand over property or not to resist its seizure, shall be punished with imprisonment from six to ten years.
(2) If the victim is compelled through force or threat to provide a promissory note or a document declaring the invalidity of an existing promissory note that could impose a financial obligation on themselves or another person, or not to resist the seizure of such a document, or to sign a paper that could later be turned into such a document, or to destroy an existing document or not to resist its destruction, the same punishment shall apply.
(3) Rendering the victim incapable of awareness or self-defense by any means is also considered as the use of force in the context of the robbery offense.
Elements and Conditions of the Crime of Robbery
Any natural person can be either the perpetrator or the victim of the crime of robbery (extortion). The legal subject of the crime is a movable property that belongs to someone else. The act element of the crime of robbery (extortion) consists of either force or threat, as it is a crime with alternative actions. The conditions for the crime of robbery (extortion) are as follows:
- Taking property that belongs to someone else,
- Use of force or threat.
The Legal Interest Protected by the Crime
In the crime of robbery, the legal interests protected are the individual’s right to property and the right of possession. At the same time, this crime also serves to protect the individual’s right to personal liberty.
PENALTY FOR THE CRIME OF ROBBERY
The Penalty for This Crime is Examined Under Two Categories: Basic Form and Aggravated Form
Penalty in the Basic Form:
If the crime is committed in the form regulated under Article 148 of the Turkish Penal Code, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment from 6 to 10 years.
Penalty in the Aggravated Form:
The aggravated form of this crime is regulated under Article 149 of the same law. Accordingly:
The robbery crime, when committed under the following circumstances:
a) With a weapon,
b) By making the person unrecognizable,
c) By multiple people acting together,
d) By road blocking or in a residence, workplace, or their extensions,
e) Against a person who is physically or mentally incapable of defending themselves,
f) By exploiting the intimidating power of existing or assumed criminal organizations,
g) With the intention of benefiting a criminal organization,
h) During the night,
The offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment from ten to fifteen years.
Reduced Sentences in Robbery Crime
In robbery crimes, cases requiring a lesser sentence are regulated in Article 150 of the law. According to this:
(1) If a person uses threat or force to collect a debt based on a legal relationship, only the provisions related to threats or intentional injury crimes will apply.
(2) If the value of the property involved in the robbery is low, the sentence may be reduced by one-third to one-half.
Investigation and Prosecution in Robbery Crimes
The investigation and prosecution of robbery crimes are not subject to a complaint. The prosecution initiates the investigation ex officio, and the court carries out the prosecution ex officio. If the victim or complainant withdraws the complaint, the case will not be dismissed, and the court will continue the case. If it is determined that the defendant committed the crime, they will be sentenced.
Mediation in Robbery Crimes
Since the investigation and prosecution of the robbery crime are not subject to a complaint, and because this crime is not listed among the catalog crimes in the Criminal Procedure Code, it is not subject to mediation.
Attempted Robbery Crime
Attempt is possible in the crime of robbery. If the perpetrator begins the act by threatening or using force, claiming that they will attack another person’s or their relative’s life, bodily integrity, or sexual inviolability, or cause significant harm to their property, and forces the victim to hand over or allow the taking of property, but fails to complete the act due to reasons beyond their control, they will be punished for attempted robbery.
Effective remorse in the crime of robbery
A person expresses their will for effective remorse during the trial, and if they compensate for the victim’s damage, their sentence can be reduced by up to one-third.
For effective remorse to be valid in the crime of robbery, two main conditions must be met:
- The perpetrator must notify the relevant authorities about the situation with remorse,
- and the victim must have compensated for the material damage incurred.
The perpetrator who meets these conditions can benefit from the provisions of effective remorse. From this point on, the victim cannot refuse the compensation of the material damage and demand the punishment of the perpetrator. However, if the perpetrator has compensated for half of the victim’s damage, the perpetrator’s benefit from effective remorse is subject to the victim’s consent.
Statute of Limitations in Robbery Offense
If an investigation is not initiated ex officio or upon complaint within 15 years from the commission of the act constituting the robbery offense, the statute of limitations for the case expires, and no legal action can be taken against the person for this act.
Court of Jurisdiction and Authority in Robbery Offenses.
The crime of robbery falls under the jurisdiction of the Heavy Criminal Court. The competent court is the court of the place where the crime was committed.
Court of Cassation Decisions
1st Criminal Chamber 2014/4631 E., 2015/1135 K.
“Precedent Text”
Serious Criminal Court
OFFENSE: Murder to facilitate the commission of robbery, aggravated robbery
IN THE NAME OF THE TURKISH NATION
The collected evidence was reviewed at the decision-making stage, and it was found that the defendants .. and .. had committed the crime of murder to facilitate the commission of robbery, aggravated robbery, while defendant .. had committed murder to facilitate the commission of robbery, aggravated robbery, and the aggravated robbery offenses against victims .. and .. were proven. The nature of the crimes was determined in accordance with the facts and the results of the investigation, and the mitigating circumstances regarding the reduction of the sentence were considered. The defendants’ defenses were evaluated and rejected with convincing reasons. As for the defendants .. and .., the evidence obtained regarding the aggravated robbery against victims .. and .., and the crime of murder to facilitate the commission of robbery and aggravated robbery against the victim .., was insufficient and inadequate to support a conviction, and therefore, they were acquitted.
As no errors were found in the judgment issued upon the appeal, the appeal objections of defendant ..’s counsel regarding insufficient examination, evidence, crime classification, mistakes in the appreciation of the evidence, sentence length, etc., and the objection of defendant ..’s counsel regarding insufficient evidence, stating that the defendant should be sentenced for theft rather than robbery, errors in the appreciation of evidence, etc., as well as the objections of defendant .. and the defense regarding insufficient evidence and mistakes in the appreciation of evidence, were rejected.
The judgment of the acquittals for defendants .. and .., and the conviction judgments for the defendants .. and .. were upheld, and the decision was unanimously made on 02/03/2015.
6th Criminal Chamber 2015/4657 E., 2018/2448 K.
“Precedent Text”
COURT: Heavy Penal Court
CRIME: Robbery
SENTENCE: Conviction
The judgment issued by the Local Court was appealed; the case was reviewed based on the nature of the application, type of penalty, duration, and date of the crime:
Robbery offenses are regulated in Articles 148 to 150 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237.
According to this, robbery occurs when a person is forced to deliver property or refrain from resisting the taking of property through threats or the use of force.
In the first paragraph of Article 148, the basic form of the robbery offense is defined, in the second paragraph, robbery involving promissory notes is addressed, and in the third paragraph, a presumption of force is introduced. The qualified form of robbery is regulated in Article 149 of the Penal Code, and in Article 150 of the same law, robbery aimed at the collection of a claim based on a legal relationship and the punishment for a decrease in value are specified.
Robbery is a crime consisting of both a goal and an instrumental action. Initially, force or threats are used as instrumental actions to achieve the goal, followed by the taking or delivery of the property as a result of the effect of those threats or force.
Force, violence, and threats constitute the essential element of the robbery offense. In cases where force is not present, the typical elements of the robbery offense cannot be discussed.
In light of this explanation, regarding the concrete case:
The defendants who got into the complainant’s vehicle on the day of the incident wanted the complainant to leave them… When they entered a dead-end street, defendant… got out, and defendant… said to the complainant, “I will speak openly with you, I don’t have money. Give me money,” prompting the complainant, who feared the robbery incidents that had happened to other taxi drivers, to give 10 TL from the 40 TL in the vehicle. The defendant then put his hand in his pocket and asked for 5 TL more, which the frightened complainant also gave. The defendant then got out of the vehicle and walked away. In this concrete case, no words or actions containing serious and threatening force or threat, as required in a robbery offense, were present during the delivery of the property. It cannot be attributed to the complainant’s perception or psychological state or their timid personality creating such an impression. It is understood that the complainant was led to deliver the property solely by their own internal fear and anxiety. Therefore, the conviction of the defendants for the robbery offense, without the presence of the necessary elements of the crime and with insufficient and inappropriate reasoning, was found to be improper.
This required a reversal, and given that the appeal objections from the defendant’s defense and the prosecutor’s opinion in the indictment were found to be appropriate, the judgment was reversed for the reasons explained, and the decision was made unanimously on 02/04/2018.
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