Suçlu Dokunulmaz Mı?: Türkiye'de Toplumun Cezasızlık Algısı

Öz

Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de 18 yaş üstü bireyler arasında cezasızlık algısının yapısını, yaygınlığını, temel nedenlerini, sonuçlarını ve bireysel deneyimlenme biçimlerini çok boyutlu bir perspektiften incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Cezasızlık algısı, suçluların fiilen veya hukuken ceza almadığına dair yaygın toplumsal inanç olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Araştırma, karma yöntem deseniyle (yakınsayan paralel) yürütülmüştür. Nicel veriler 600 katılımcıdan çevrimiçi anket yoluyla, nitel veriler ise ceza hukuku alanında deneyimli 12 avukatla yapılan yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelerle toplanmıştır. Bulgular, Türkiye'de cezasızlık algısının toplumun büyük bir kesiminde yaygın ve derinleşmiş bir kanaat olduğunu göstermektedir. Katılımcıların çoğu, suçluların ceza almaktan kurtulduğuna ve adalet sisteminin yetersiz olduğuna inanmaktadır. Bu algı, özellikle genç nüfus arasında hukuka güveni ciddi biçimde aşındırmış ve son yıllarda belirgin bir artış göstermiştir. Medya ve sosyal medyanın algının oluşumunda ve pekişmesinde kritik bir rol oynadığı, infaz sistemindeki uygulamaların (şartlı salıverme, denetimli serbestlik gibi) cezasızlık hissini artırdığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, siyasi ve ekonomik gücün yargı süreçlerini etkilediği, bunun da toplumsal eşitsizlik ve devlete güven kaybına yol açtığı vurgulanmıştır. Çalışma, cezasızlık algısının sadece bir “hissiyat” olmaktan öte, toplumsal bir “gerçeklik”, “olgu” veya “inanç” haline geldiğini, hukukun üstünlüğünü, yargı bağımsızlığını ve toplumsal huzuru tehdit eden yapısal bir sorun olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Bu durum, yargı bağımsızlığının güçlendirilmesi, hukuki süreçlerin iyileştirilmesi, infaz sisteminde değişikliğe gidilmesi gibi kapsamlı reformları acil kılmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Cezasızlık algısı
• Adalet sistemi
• Yargı bağımsızlığı
• Türkiye
• Karma yöntem araştırması

Are Criminals Untouchable?: Society's Perception of Impunity in Türkiye

Öz

This study aims to examine the structure, prevalence, underlying causes, consequences, and individual experiences of impunity among individuals aged 18 and over in Türkiye from a multidimensional perspective. The perception of impunity is defined as a widespread social belief that offenders do not receive punishment either in fact or in law. The research was conducted using a mixed-methods design (convergent parallel). Quantitative data were collected from 600 participants via an online survey, while qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 12 lawyers experienced in criminal law. The findings indicate that the perception of impunity is widespread and deeply entrenched among a large segment of Turkish society. Most participants believe that criminals escape punishment and that the justice system is inadequate. This perception has seriously eroded trust in the law, particularly among the younger population, and has increased significantly in recent years. The media and social media were found to play a critical role in shaping and reinforcing this perception, while practices in the penal system (such as conditional release and probation) were found to increase the sense of impunity. Furthermore, it was emphasized that political and economic power influence judicial processes, leading to social inequality and a loss of trust in the state. The study reveals that the perception of impunity is more than just a “feeling”; it has become a social “reality,” “fact,” or “belief” and constitutes a structural problem that threatens the rule of law, judicial independence, and social peace. This situation necessitates comprehensive reforms, including strengthening judicial independence, improving legal processes, and reforming the penal system.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Perception of impunity
• Justice system
• Judicial independence
• Türkiye
• Mixed method research

Kaynakça

1. Afflitto F M, 'Victimization, Survival and the Impunity of Forced Exile: A Case Study from the Rwandan Genocide' (2000) 34 (1) Crime, Law and Social Change 77–97 https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1008367712285
2. Agnew R, 'Foundation for a General Strain Theory of Crime and Delinquency' (1992) 30 Criminology 47-87 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01093.x
3. Akgün M H, 'Cezasızlık Algısı ve Cezalandırma Üzerine' (2024) Kriter Dergisi https://kriterdergi.com/siyaset/cezasizlik-algisi-ve-cezalandirma-uzerine
4. Akhavan P, 'Can International Criminal Justice Prevent Future Atrocities?' (2001) 95 (1) American Journal of International Law 7-31.
5. Altıparmak K, Cezasızlıkla Mücadele El Kitabı (Cezasızlıktan Hesap Verilebilirliğe: Sivil Toplum Örgütlerinin İzleme ve Müdahale Kapasitesinin Geliştirilmesi Projesi, İnsan Hakları Ortak Platformu İHOP 2016).
6. ASAL Araştırma, ‘Türkiye’de Adalet Var Mı Anketi’ (2025) https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/anket-turkiyede-adalet-var-mi-sorusuna-yanitta-derin-fark-galeri-1751458
7. Baltacı A, 'Nitel Veri Analizinde Miles-Huberman Modeli' (2017) 3 (1) Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 1-14.
8. Bandura B, 'Moral Disengagement in the Perpetration of Inhumanities' (1999) 3 (3) Personality and Social Psychology Review 193–209 https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3

9. Beccaria C, Suçlar ve Cezalar Hakkında (Çev. Sami Selçuk, İmge Kitabevi 2013)
10. Beyrer C, 'Impunity: Undermining the Health and Human Rights Consensus' (2020) 22 (1) Health and Human Rights Journal https://www.hhrjournal.org/2020/01/14/impunity-undermining-the-health-and-human-rights-consensus/
11. Büyüköztürk Ş, Sosyal Bilimler için Veri Analizi El Kitabı (17. baskı, Pegem Akademi 2012)
12. Ceza ve Güvenlik Tedbirlerinin İnfazı Hakkında Kanun (CGTİK) (No. 5275, Resmî Gazete, 29 Aralık 2004, Sayı 25685) https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?
13. Clarke R V and Cornish D B, 'Modeling Offenders' Decisions: A Framework for Research and Policy' (1985) 6 Crime and Justice 147-185.
14. Cochran W G, Sampling Techniques (3rd edn, Wiley 1977).
15. Collins English Dictionary (10th edn, 2012) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/impunity
16. Crane D M, 'The Erosion of Respect for the Rule of Law in America' (21 May 2025) https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2024/10/the-erosion-of-respect-for-the-rule-of-law-in-america/
17. Creswell J W, Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (SAGE Publications 2013).
18. Creswell J W, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (SAGE Publications 2014).
19. Cribari-Neto F and Santos M A F L, 'An Empirical Analysis of Worldwide Impunity' (2024) 11 Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03803-x
20. Crocker D A, 'Transitional Justice and International Civil Society: Toward a Normative Framework' (1998) 5 (4) Constellations 492–517.
21. Däubler-Gmelin H, 'The State of Human Rights in Europe: The Need to Eradicate Impunity' (Report submitted to Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Doc. 11934, 2009) http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewHTML.asp?FileID=12695&Language=en
22. Delgadillo-Alemán S E, Kú-Carrillo R A and Torres-Nájera A, 'A Corruption Impunity Model Considering Anticorruption Policies' (2024) 29 (5) Mathematical and Computational Applications 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/mca29050081
23. Demir Koşar G C D, Yaşam Hakkı ile İşkence ve Kötü Muamele Yasağı Kapsamında Cezasızlık Sorunu (Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İnsan Hakları Anabilim Dalı 2021).
24. Ece S, 'Örgütlerde Kırık Camlar' (2023) 7 (13) European Journal of Managerial Research 11–23.
25. Eichen A, Broken Trust: The Pervasive Role of Deceit in American Policing (Policy Analysis No. 979, Cato Institute, Washington, DC 2024).
26. Eurasia Group, 'The Atlas of Impunity 2024: A People’s Perspective' (Munich Security Conference 2025) https://securityconference.org/assets/2025-02_Atlas_of_Impunity.pdf
27. Fetters M D, Curry L A and Creswell J W, 'Achieving Integration in Mixed Methods Designs Principles and Practices' (2013) 48 (6) Health Services Research 2125–2133.
28. Forst M, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders (United Nations General Assembly, A/74/159 2019) https://docs.un.org/en/A/74/159
29. Fowler F J, Survey Research Methods (4th edn, Sage 2009).
30. Fraenkel J R, Wallen N E and Hyun H H, How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (6th edn, McGraw-Hill Press 2006).
31. Galtung J, 'Conflict as a Way of Life' in H Freeman (ed), Progress in Mental Health (Churchill 1969)
32. García-Sayán D, 'Corruption, Human Rights, and Judicial Independence' (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2018) https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/news/2018/04/corruption--human-rights--and-judicial-independence.html
33. Gartner R and Piliavin I, 'The Aging Offender and the Aged Offender' in P Baltes, D Featherman and R Lerner (eds), Life Span Development and Behavior (287-315, Academic Press 1988)
34. Greene J C, Kreider H and Mayer E, 'Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Social Inquiry' (2005) 1 Research Methods in The Social Sciences 275-282 https://doi.org/10.18848/2324-7576/CGP/v07i02/53480
35. Greene JC, Caracelli VJ and Graham WF, ‘Toward a Conceptual Framework for Mixed-Method Evaluation Designs’ (1989) 11(3) Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 255–274 https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737011003255
36. Güler A, M B Halıcıoğlu and S Taşğın, Sosyal Bilimlerde Nitel Araştırma (Seçkin Yayıncılık 2015).
37. Gürbüz S and Şahin F, Sosyal Bilimlerde Araştırma Yöntemleri (4th edn, Seçkin Yayınları 2017).
38. Hanson W E, Creswell J W, Plano Clark V L, Petska K S and Creswell J D, 'Mixed Methods Research Designs in Counseling Psychology' (2005) 52 (2) Journal of Counseling Psychology 224-235 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.224.
39. Harding T, 'Oxfam Accuses Afghan Police of Torture and Child Sex Abuse' The Daily Telegraph (2011)
40. Harper D, 'Impunity' (2010) Online Etymology Dictionary http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/impunity Höglund K and Söderberg Kovacs M, ‘Beyond the Absence of War: The Diversity of Peace in Post-Settlement Societies’ (2010) 36(2) Review of International Studies 367–390.
41. Human Rights Watch, 'Undermining Justice: Impunity for Human Rights Abuses in Jammu and Kashmir' (2006) https://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/india0906/4.htm
42. Iglesias E M, 'When Impunity and Corruption Embrace: How the Past Becomes the Future in the Struggle Against Torture and Genocide' (2018) University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository 1-36. https://repository.law.miami.edu/fac_articles/710/
43. Israel G D, 'Sampling the Evidence of Extension Program Impact' (1992) Program Evaluation and Organizational Development, IFAS, University of Florida PEOD-5, October.
44. Jackall R, Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers (Oxford University Press 1988).
45. Joinet L, Question of the Impunity of Perpetrators of Human Rights Violations (Civil and Political) (Geneva: Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities 1997).
46. Jorgensen N, 'Impunity and Oversight: When Do Governments Police Themselves?' (2009) 8(4) Journal of Human Rights 385–404 https://doi.org/10.1080/14754830903332467
47. Joyner C C, 'Redressing Impunity for Human Rights Violations: The Universal Declaration and the Search for Accountability' (1998) 26 Denver Journal of International Law and Policy 7-31.
48. Karasar N, Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemi (Nobel Yayıncılık 2012).
49. Khatiwada P P and Adhikari D P, 'Driving Forces of Impunity in South Asia: A Human Rights Framework' (2024) 14 (1) Molung Educational Frontier 222–241 https://doi.org/10.3126/mef.v14i01.67922
50. Kurt G, Cezasızlık Sorunu: Soruşturma Süreci (Hakikat Adalet Hafıza Merkezi, İstanbul 2014) https://hakikatadalethafiza.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/cezasizlik-sorunu.pdf
51. Le Clercq JA and Rodríguez Sánchez Lara GR, Global Impunity Index 2020 (GII 2020): Impunity Levels in the World (30 April 2021) https://ssrn.com/abstract=3837642
52. McSherry J P and Molina Mejía R, 'Confronting the Question of Justice in Guatemala' (1992) 19 (3) Social Justice 1-28.
53. Metz R and Kövesdi V, 'Teflon Leadership: Crossing Moral Boundaries with Impunity' (2025) https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5206401
54. Mezarobba G, 'Between Reparations, Half-Truths and Impunity: The Difficult Break with the Legacy of the Dictatorship in Brazil' (2010) 13 Sur International Journal on Human Rights 1-25.
55. Neuman WL, Toplumsal Araştırma Yöntemleri: Nicel ve Nitel Yaklaşımlar I (8th edn, Yayın Odası 2016) (Sedef Özge tr).
56. Opotow S, 'Reconciliation in Times of Impunity: Challenges for Social Justice Research' (2001) 14(2) Social Justice Research 149-170.
57. Oscar Vilhena Vieira, ‘Inequality and the Subversion of the Rule of Law’ (2007) 6(4) Sur – International Journal on Human Rights 27–47 https://www.scielo.br/j/sur/a/6b8m4wkLXMwkv8KQFmW8Nsy/?lang=en&format=pdf
58. Oxford English Dictionary, ‘Impunity’ Oxford English Dictionary (2025) https://www.oed.com/dictionary/impunity_n?tab=factsheet#725497
59. Paternoster R, 'How Much Do We Really Know About Criminal Deterrence?' (2010) 100 Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 765-824.
60. Patton M Q, Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice (SAGE Publications 2015).
61. Penrose M M, 'Impunity – Inertia, Inaction and Invalidity: A Literature Review' (1999) 17(2) Boston University International Law Journal 269-310.
62. Punch K F, Sosyal Araştırmalara Giriş (Çev. D Bayrak, B Arslan, Z Akyüz, 2nd edn, Siyasal Kitabevi 2011).
63. Roberto Martinez B Kukutschka, ‘CPI 2023: Corruption and (In)justice’ (Transparency International, 30 January 2024) https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2023-corruption-and-injustice
64. Rule of Law Index, World Justice Project (WJP) (2023) https://worldjusticeproject.org/ruleof-law-index/insights
65. Saygı Y B, 'Cezasızlık Algısı' (2025) Akademik Akıl https://www.akademikakil.com/cezasizlik-algisi/ybirolsaygi/?utm
66. Schmidt A A, 'Development and Validation of the Toxic Leadership Scale' (2008) 69(4-A) Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences 1377.
67. Sellström A M, Stronger Than Justice: Armed Group Impunity for Sexual Violence (Doctoral dissertation, Uppsala University 2015) https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:766398/FULLTEXT01.pdf
68. Sevdiren Ö, Türkiye’nin Cezasızlık Mevzuatı (Hakikat Adalet Hafıza Merkezi, İstanbul 2015) https://hakikatadalethafiza.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Turkiyenin-Cezasizlik-Mevzuati.pdf
69. Shaffer G and Sandholtz W, 'The Rule of Law Under Pressure: The Enmeshment of National and International Trends' in G Shaffer and W Sandholtz (eds), The Rule of Law Under Pressure: A Transnational Challenge (Cambridge University Press 2025) 3–86 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009460286.002
70. Şirin T, ‘Türkiye’de Cezasızlık Sorunu ve Anayasa Mahkemesi’ (2019) 21 D.E.Ü. Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, Prof Dr Durmuş Tezcan’a Armağan Özel Sayı 1577–1607.
71. Sosyal Demokrasi Vakfı (SODEV), 'Yargı Bağımsızlığı ve Yargıya Güven Araştırma Raporu' (2019) https://sodev.org.tr/yargi-bagimsizligi.pdf
72. Tabachnick B G and Fidell L S, Using Multivariate Statistics (Allyn and Bacon 2013)
73. Tepper B J, 'Consequences of Abusive Supervision' (2000) 43 (2) Academy of Management Journal 178–190 https://doi.org/10.2307/1556375
74. Türk Ceza Kanunu (TCK) (Kanun No. 5237, Resmî Gazete, 12 Ekim 2004, Sayı 25611) https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=5237&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
75. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, Yaşam Memnuniyeti Anketi (2024) https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Yasam-Memnuniyeti-Arastirmasi-2024-53785
76. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 'End Impunity for Corruption to Boost Resources for Development' (2015) https://anti-corruption.org/endimpunity-for-corruption-to-boost-resources-for-development/
77. Vázquez D and Ortiz H, 'Impunity and Economic and Social Rights' (2020) 21 (2) Human Rights Review 159–180 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-020-00580-3
78. Viñuales J E, 'Impunity: Elements for an Empirical Concept' (2007) 25 Law and Inequality 115-145.
79. Wang H, “Research on the ‘Thin’ and ‘Thick’ of Impunity and Its Solution” (2023) 102 International Relations and International Law Journal 73-83. https://doi.org/10.26577/irilj.2023.v102.i2.07
80. Wertz F J, 'Phenomenological Research Methods for Counseling Psychology' (2005) 52 (2) Journal of Counseling Psychology 167-177 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.167
81. Wilson J Q and Kelling G L, 'Broken Windows' (1982) 249 (3) The Atlantic Monthly 29–38.
82. Yıldırım A and Şimşek H, Sosyal Bilimlerde Nitel Araştırma Yöntemleri (10th edn, Seçkin Yayıncılık 2016).
83. Yozgat F, “Olumlu-Olumsuz Yönleriyle ‘Cezasızlık Algısı’” (2025) Akademik Akıl https://www.akademikakil.com/olumlu-olumsuz-yonleriyle-cezasizlik-algisi/fazilyozgat/