An analysis of the legality of the Turkish police fingerprint and photograph databases in the light of ECtHR decisions

In Türkiye, the police can take fingerprints and photographs of persons who are the subject of the procedure, not only for criminal offenses, but also for the procedures listed in the article, and store them in the same repository with the data of persons whose data are taken for criminal offenses. As a matter of fact, the provision stipulates that fingerprints or photographs of passport applicants can be stored in the same place as the fingerprints and photographs of detained persons after being taken by the police. While the legislator sought to prevent the stigmatization of individuals whose fingerprints were taken due to criminal activity, it caused everyone to be stigmatized. The scope of these powers granted to the police has been addressed in various decisions of the ECtHR in terms of the conditions of storage and use of the data, the purpose for which these data are stored, and the duration of their storage. The ECtHR has stated that, for fingerprint retention measures to be considered lawful, the domestic legal rules governing these measures must contain certain legal safeguards. Current Turkish legislation is also deficient in terms of providing these safeguards sought by the ECtHR.