Turkish Parliament’s General Assembly passed a bill amending the Child Protection Law on Saturday, putting an end, for now, to a debate over minors getting away with serious crimes such as murder.
The law stipulates prison terms of between 19 and 27 years for offenses punishable by aggravated life imprisonment when committed by offenders who were between the ages of 15 and 18 at the time of the crime. It also mandates prison terms of between 15 and 18 years for offenses punishable by life imprisonment.
The bill has been on lawmakers’ agenda for some time in light of several notorious murders committed by offenders under the age of 18, often targeting their peers, as well as the rise of criminal gangs exploiting young people to carry out crimes such as extortion and contract killings targeting rival gangs and businesses that refuse to pay extortion demands.
Under the new law, judges are granted discretionary authority so that age-based sentence reductions may not be applied to children in the 15-18 age group who commit intentional homicide or aggravated injury resulting in severe consequences. In addition, the penalty regime applicable to an older age group may be applied to children in the 12-15 age group.
