Anti-Terror Law of Turkey

The ATA was passed in 1991 during the Gulf War alongside the declaration of martial law in the country. In part, it was created as a response to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militant political party in favor of a separate Kurdistan and autonomy for Kurds in Turkey. In 1984, the group began organizing in support of Kurds in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. The PKK established its base of operations in Northern Iraq, close to Southeastern Turkey in 1991. Due to this and the rising Kurdish nationalism in Turkey, the ATA was enacted and enforced.^[3]

The ATA is made up of five sections that serve different purposes.

The first section is made up of Articles 1–8. It contains definitions of terrorism and terrorist organizations. According to its contents, some act that are crimes according to the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) are redefined as terrorist. Article 1 maintains that for something to be declared a terrorist act, it must meet all three of the following conditions:^[4]

1. The act must have been "done by means of pressure, force and violence, terror, intimidation, oppression, or threat." Notably, "The concepts of force and violence, and intimidation, are well-defined in Turkish law....However, the concepts of pressure, oppression, threat, or terror have not been used extensively in Turkish law."
2. The goal orientation must be:
   1. To change the characteristics of the Republic of Turkey as specified in the Constitution "[its political legal, social, secular, and economic system, and the characteristics of the Republic enunciated in Article 2 of the Constitution and by way of reference in the Preamble]"
   2. To damage the indivisible unity of the State with its territory and nation, and to endanger the existence of the Turkish State and Republic
   3. To weaken, destroy or seize the authority of the State
   4. To eliminate fundamental rights and freedoms (i.e. political freedoms, religious freedom, personal freedom, inviolability of the residence, protection of confidentiality, and provisions related to freedom to work)
   5. To damage the internal and external security of the State, public order, or general health
3. The act must be committed by a person or a group of people who are members of an organization. In cases where the same act is committed by individuals, the law does not apply.
   1. It is important to note that "according to the last paragraph of Article 2 of the [ATL], individuals who commit crimes in the name of an organization even though they are not members of the organization would be guilty of terrorist crimes. For purposes of this law, an organization is formed when two or more people gather around the same aim."^[5]

The second section is made up of Articles 9–15. It "regulates some special mechanisms to try terrorist crimes".^[6] This includes the nomination of the State Security Courts as the court to prosecute acts that are criminalized by this law. Though, these courts were later disbanded through the 2004 amendments as part of Turkey's movement to become part of the European Union.^[7][8]

The third section is made up of Articles 16–18. It creates sentencing times specific to crimes covered under the law.^[6]

The fourth section contains Articles 19–21. It "regulates rewards, remedies, and protection mechanisms for the Public Officials engaged in the struggle against terrorism and those helping authorities."^[6]

The fifth section is Articles 22–25 and ten temporary articles. It "contains temporary articles for crimes committed before April 8, 1991."^[6]