According to a statement by Justice Minister Sadullah Ergün, 66,126 individuals faced prosecutor investigation within Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 314 with 32,279 prosecuted and 20,265 convicted to a sentence in the past four years. Turkish Penal Code Article 314 regulates crimes related to “armed organizations” in Turkey.

BDP Iğdır deputy Pervin Buldan had asked the minister to release figures of those who either faced prosecutor investigation, prosecution or conviction. 

The documents provided by the minister reveal that the prosecutor investigations originating from TCK 314 doubled from 2009 to 2012. They also revealed that 40 percent of those facing prosecution were ordered to stand trial. 

Between 2009 and 2012, 53 percent of 38,135 prosecuted were convicted and only 17 percent were acquitted. The remaining cases were either dropped, unified or withdrawn from verdict.   

The documents also reveal that 340 defendants were convicted of being leader of an “armed organization” between 2009 and 2012. Between 2009 and 2012,  32,279 were prosecuted. Prosecutions originating from TCK 314 rose by 57.5 percent from 2009 to 2012.