A bill modifying Türkiye’s anti-spying law is set to land at Parliament on Wednesday amid heated debate over its content.
The text, first raised by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), would add a new definition of espionage for “crimes committed against the state security or for political interests” and allow prison terms of up to seven years for suspects found guilty of working for foreign interests.
The changes are directed at the Turkish Penal Code’s Article 339, which stipulates, “Anyone who obtains information meant to be secret in quality for state security or domestic or foreign political interests for political or military espionage will be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison.”
The bill is meant to address what the article does not cover, which includes abducting foreign nationals or members of foreign intelligence, following targets in Türkiye, or gathering intelligence or documents.
The seven-year prison term goes up to 12 years during the war and if the crime is committed by those serving in war preparations or strategically important units for national security.
The article stipulates that for the crime to occur, the perpetrator must act in line with the strategic interests or instructions of a foreign state or organization and that this foreign organization must not be established in accordance with Turkish law.
Prosecutors will be permitted to launch investigations on said charges, but they are required to secure the Justice Ministry’s authorization to prosecute them during trials.
The bill comes at a time of heightened espionage activity in the country. As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages on, Türkiye has uncovered several networks operated by Mossad in the country.
They are accused of recruiting Turkish nationals and people of other nationalities living in the country to spy on Palestinians, particularly people associated with the resistance group Hamas.
Earlier this year, authorities have also discovered several Syrians working for the French intelligence.
Several groups have called for the text to be withdrawn, while the opposition has criticized it as “agents of influence legislation.”
A previous version as part of a legal reform package unveiled in May was abandoned in June but later returned to the legislative agenda in October.
The AK Party says the changes are needed to “fight against new types of espionage.”
“The nature of espionage has changed in modern times as it now includes crimes committed through different techniques,” party officials have said.
The case of Metin Gürcan, who was tried on charges of “successively disclosed confidential information regarding the security of the state for the purpose of espionage,” is often cited in this regard.
The prosecution sought 35 years in prison for Gürcan, but he was acquitted of the crime of exposing state information. Instead, he received five years in prison for the crime of “providing information that should remain secret due to its quality for the security and political interests of the state.”
