II. Meşrutiyet’in İlk Günlerinde Uygulanan Afların Mahiyet ve Etkileri (1908-1909)

Crime, punishment, execution, and amnesty are terms are as old as human history and represent social and legal phenomena that are causally related. According to the dictionary, amnesty means the forgiveness of crimes. As a legal term, it refers to the mitigation or complete cancellation of certain punishments by the relevant governmental authorities. Amnesty has been used throughout human history by every society at different times and for different reasons. Amnesty laws were specifically enacted after social and political revolutions, rebellions, and wars with the aims of securing peace between the state and society, reintegrating criminals into society, restoring state authority, and, if necessary, eliminating the need for soldiers. As in many other states, amnesty laws were applied in the Ottoman Empire for different reasons and purposes at various times. The amnesty laws enacted after the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Revolution are the most striking examples in Turkish history. This study examines the amnesty laws enacted within one year of the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Revolution in terms of their content and effects.