WHAT IS THE CRIME OF HATE AND DISCRIMINATION (TCK ART. 122)? (2026 CURRENT GUIDE)

The crime of hate and discrimination is an offense regulated under Article 122 of the Turkish Penal Code, which penalizes the exclusion of individuals from economic and social life due to certain characteristics.

This crime specifically protects the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination shall be evaluated within the scope of.

Not every discriminatory behavior encountered in daily life constitutes this crime. For the crime to occur, the conditions explicitly stated in the law must be met.

The most important feature of this crime is that not every unfair or offensive behavior is automatically the crime of hate and discrimination considered. For the crime to be established, both a hate motive must exist and the specific obstructive acts enumerated individually in the law must take place.

What Does TCK Art. 122 Protect?

This regulation aims to prevent individuals from being excluded from social life solely due to their identities or affiliations. In other words, the law:

• equality in access to goods and services,
• equality of opportunity in working life,
• the right to participate in economic life,
• social peace

aims to protect.

It is also accepted in doctrine that the primary legal value protected by the article is preventing individuals from being deprived of the rights and freedoms provided by laws due to hate-based discrimination .

Elements of the Crime of Hate and Discrimination

What are the protected groups?

The groups protected under TCK Article 122 are numerus clausus. These are:

• language
• race
• nationality
• color
• gender
• disability
• political opinion
• philosophical belief
• religion
• sect

Although exclusion based on a reason not enumerated in the law may entail other legal consequences, it does not always constitute the crime of hate and discrimination within the meaning of Article 122 of the TCK .

Which acts are considered crimes?

The article penalizes only the following four acts:

Preventing the sale, transfer, or lease of goods offered to the public

For instance, a landlord's or a business's refusal to sell goods or lease real estate to an individual solely due to their religious, sectarian, or ethnic affiliation may fall within this scope.

Preventing the utilization of a specific service offered to the public

An example of this act could be denying a person access to a service open to the public solely due to hatred stemming from their identity.

Prevention of employment

The exclusion of a candidate during the recruitment process based on protected identity characteristics rather than their qualifications may, in some cases, be evaluated within the scope of TCK Article 122.

Prevention of engaging in an ordinary economic activity

Preventing a person from carrying out normal commercial or economic activities due to hatred arising from the reasons enumerated in the law may also constitute a crime.

What is Hate Motive?

The heart of the crime: Hate motive

Hate motive, refers to the perpetrator committing the act not out of a routine preference, but with hostility and prejudice directed at the victim's specific identity, affiliation, or difference.

Therefore, for instance, merely a commercial preference, insufficient capacity, or an objective service barrier does not always constitute a crime. The prosecutor's office and the court investigate whether there is genuinely hate-based discrimination involved in the incident.

General intent alone is not sufficient.

The Court of Cassation and doctrine accept that, with respect to this crime, merely acting consciously is not enough; furthermore, the element of acting out of hatred must also be proven.

In this respect, TCK 122 is one of the types of crimes that are difficult to prove in practice. Because not only what the perpetrator did, but also why they did it is of importance.

Penalty for the Crime of Hate and Discrimination

According to TCK 122, the penalty for the crime of hate and discrimination is imprisonment from 1 to 3 years..

The statutory text does not provide a separate specific aggravated circumstance for this crime. However, depending on the specifics of the case, other offenses may also arise. For instance, other types of offenses such as insult, threat, or incitement of the public to hatred and hostility may be separately evaluated.

Does Every Form of Discrimination Fall Within the Scope of TCK 122?

No. This is a very crucial point.

Every unjust act, every exclusion, or every unequal treatment does not constitute the crime of hate and discrimination in the legal sense of criminal law . In order for TCK 122 to apply:

1. It must be based on a protected group enumerated in the law,
2. It must be based on a there must be an act of prevention,
3. This act must be committed out of hatred .

If any of these three elements is missing, TCK 122 may not apply. However, the incident labor law, compensation law, administrative law or Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey may be examined before the scope of the prohibition of discrimination.

Are the Crime of Hate and Discrimination and Hate Speech the Same Thing?

No, they are not the same thing.

The crime of hate and discrimination, pertains to the prevention of benefiting from certain rights and opportunities.
Hate speech on the other hand, is mostly debated over expressions and statements; under which circumstances it will be considered a crime is evaluated separately.

The Court of Cassation also emphasizes that the concepts of "hate crime," "discrimination," and "hate speech," while closely related, are distinct.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) What is the crime of hate and discrimination?

It is the prevention of a person from engaging in the fields of goods, services, employment, or economic activity due to differences in language, race, nationality, color, gender, disability, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion, or sect.

2) What is the penalty under Article 122 of the TCK?

It is imprisonment from 1 to 3 years.

3) Is every discriminatory behavior a crime?

No. For Article 122 of the TCK to apply, there must be both one of the protected groups enumerated in the article and one of the four acts enumerated in the article. In addition, hate motive must be proven.

4) Is failure to hire always considered the crime of hate and discrimination?

No. The decision not to hire must genuinely be made due to hatred stemming from a protected identity characteristic. Rejections made for objective and legitimate reasons may not fall within this scope.

5) Can refusing to rent a house fall within the scope of Article 122 of the TCK?

Yes. If the failure to lease the immovable property occurred due to hatred stemming from the individual's protected identity characteristics, Article 122 of the TCK may apply.

6) Does refusing to provide a service constitute this crime?

Yes, but not in every case. The service must be open to the general public, and the refusal to provide it must be linked to hatred arising from the reasons enumerated in the law.

7) Is Article 122 of the TCK a general hate crime provision?

No. According to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), Article 122 of the TCK is not an independent and general hate crime regulation; it is a limited penal norm concerning acts of discrimination committed with the intent of hatred. Regarding the relevant provision of this law article Legislation Information System at.

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