Turkish Law in EnglishTÜRKİYE
Turkish Penal Code (Law No. 5237)

Article 258: Disclosure of official secrets

Book Two: Special Provisions › Part Four: Offences against the Nation and the State, and Final Provisions › Chapter One: Offences against the Reliability and Functioning of Public Administration

(1) A public official who discloses or publishes documents, decisions, orders and other communications which have been given to him by reason of his duty, or which have come to his knowledge for the same reason, and which must remain secret, or who facilitates, by whatever means, their coming to the knowledge of others, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one year to four years.

(2) The same penalty shall also be imposed on a person who commits the acts set out in paragraph 1 after his capacity as a public official has ended.

Original Turkish text

MADDE 258 · Göreve ilişkin sırrın açıklanması

(1) Görevi nedeniyle kendisine verilen veya aynı nedenle bilgi edindiği ve gizli kalması gereken belgeleri, kararları ve emirleri ve diğer tebligatı açıklayan veya yayınlayan veya ne suretle olursa olsun başkalarının bilgi edinmesini kolaylaştıran kamu görevlisine, bir yıldan dört yıla kadar hapis cezası verilir.

(2) Kamu görevlisi sıfatı sona erdikten sonra, birinci fıkrada yazılı fiilleri işleyen kimseye de aynı ceza verilir.

Text as of 1 October 2026 · Official source (Turkish): mevzuat.gov.tr ↗

Unofficial translation for information only. The Turkish text published in the Official Gazette is the only authoritative version. This page is not legal advice.