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Criminal Damage

Criminal Law

When a person intentionally makes another person’s property unusable, damages it or causes its value to decrease, this is assessed under criminal law. In daily life, many different incidents, such as scratching a car, breaking belongings, damaging real estate or destroying property belonging to a business, may be dealt with as the offence of criminal damage (mala zarar verme).

In criminal damage cases, not only the financial loss but also how the incident took place, the purpose of the perpetrator and the available evidence are assessed together. For this reason, each incident must be examined within its own circumstances.

When damage to someone’s property rights occurs, documenting the incident correctly is important at the first stage. Photographs, videos, camera recordings, witness details and other documents held by the person who suffered the damage can help clarify the incident.

Especially in cases of damage to vehicles, workplaces or real estate, establishing the damage and showing how the incident occurred are important for the legal process that follows.

In Which Situations Does the Offence of Criminal Damage Arise?

Criminal damage does not only mean the complete destruction of an item. Conduct that reduces the usefulness of property, lowers its economic value or prevents the owner from exercising their rights over it may also be subject to legal assessment.

For example, deliberately scratching a vehicle, breaking the windows of a workplace, damaging a person’s belongings or causing unauthorised destruction to real estate may be examined according to the features of the incident.

Establishing the Damage and the Importance of Evidence

One of the most important issues in criminal damage files is showing what damage occurred and who caused it.

Camera footage, photographs, damage assessment reports (ekspertiz raporları), repair invoices, witness statements and other documents can play an important role in proving the incident.

However, it is not enough for evidence merely to exist; it must be obtained lawfully and its connection to the incident must be established correctly.

Damage to Vehicles and Real Estate

A significant share of criminal damage incidents involve vehicles and real estate. Damage to a parked car, destruction of parts of a workplace or interference with the physical structure of a property may be assessed in this context.

In such situations, alongside the criminal process, it is also possible to consider legal routes for compensating the financial loss that has occurred.

The Complaint and Trial Process in the Offence of Criminal Damage

In criminal damage incidents, the complaint (şikâyet) process may differ depending on the nature of the incident and the statutory provisions. For this reason, it is important to determine the legal nature of the incident correctly at the start of the process.

During the investigation stage, evidence is gathered, the parties’ statements are taken and the incident is assessed; together, these reveal the legal position regarding the trial process.

The Process for Persons Facing a Criminal Damage Allegation

An allegation of criminal damage against a person does not, on its own, mean that the offence was definitely committed. To assess criminal liability, the incident must be examined in all its aspects.

An appropriate defence approach should be developed by assessing together the basis of the allegation, the available evidence, how the incident occurred and the person’s legal position.

For the victim in a criminal damage case, the aim is not only to pursue the criminal process. Compensating the financial loss and protecting the right of ownership are also important.

Depending on the extent of the damage, the circumstances of the incident and the relationship between the parties, different legal options may be considered.

Criminal damage offences should not be regarded merely as damage to an item. Such incidents may amount to a direct interference with a person’s right of ownership.

For this reason, from the start of the incident, it is important to preserve the evidence, analyse the legal position correctly and conduct the process in an informed way.

Attorney Ezgi Çalışkan works on criminal investigations arising from criminal damage offences, complaint processes, remedying the harm suffered by victims and legal assessment in criminal files.

In criminal damage incidents, choosing the right legal route depends not only on establishing the damage but on assessing the incident in all its aspects. A legal review based on the features of the incident is important for protecting rights and conducting the process effectively.

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