The crime of forgery in the official document and its penalty are stipulated in article 204 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237. Forgery of official document; using a fake official document, changing the form of a real official document to deceive someone else, and creating a fake official document or editing the current official document in a way that contradicts itself. Forgery of official documents is one of the crimes that can be committed intentionally.
If the person performs any of the optional acts expressed, he/she becomes the perpetrator of the crime of forgery in the official document. With this crime, records of forgery of private documents are collected frequently. The most nuances between both crimes; The fact of the document subject to the crime of forgery in official documents is a document that can be issued by the authorized official. In general, it is very important to apply for the help of a criminal lawyer in the execution investigation and prosecution due to the crime of forgery of official documents during the heavy penal sanction.
The legislator has determined the obligation to complain for the follow-up of some of the crimes regulated in the Law No. 5237. For crimes subject to follow-up complaints, there is a 6-month complaint period. However, the follow-up of the crime of forgery of official documents is not dependent on the complaint; Operationally, there is no period of complaint regarding this crime. In the official document, a statute of limitations of 8 years has been regulated for the simplest form of forgery. If this spent crime is reported to the prosecutor’s office by the complainant within the 8-year statute of limitations, an investigation can be carried out.
The provisions of the crime of forgery of official document:
The cases listed under the crime of forgery in the official document are comprehensive cases that require a heavier penalty for the perpetrator:
Documents considered valid until proven false:
The penalty for the crime of forgery in the official document shows an explanation for the simple and contained forms of the crime. Penalties for simple and general forms of crime can be listed as follows:
A person who influences or uses an official document forged, in a way that deceives another person, is sentenced to imprisonment up to 5 times in 2 communities (TCK art. 204/1),
If a public official forges, makes decisions, or uses an official document, which makes it compulsory to use his duty, the public official is sentenced to imprisonment up to 3 sentences and 8 imprisonment (TCK art. 204/2),
The material subject of the crime is the official document. If this document is accepted as a valid official document referring to the one whose falsity is proven, the penalty specified in the paragraphs mentioned above is increased by 1/2.
Doctor, Nurse, Midwife etc. If it is caught by a healthcare professional, taken under illegal documents, causes harm to individuals or the public, or provides any unfair advantage, it is punished according to the provisions of the crime of forgery of official documents (TCK art.210/2 – 2).
