Türkiye weighs life sentences for serious teen crimes

ANKARA

Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has proposed a bill to replace lenient juvenile laws with stricter penalties for serious crimes, enabling courts to hand down life sentences to offenders aged 15 to 18 in specific homicide cases.

The 18-article proposal amends seven separate laws and comes amid growing public debate over violent crimes involving minors, intensified by the killing of 15-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi in Istanbul. The teenager died after being stabbed in a market by two suspects, both under 18, sparking calls for tougher penalties for juvenile offenders and renewed scrutiny of Türkiye’s juvenile justice system.

Speaking at a press conference, AKP Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Leyla Şahin Usta said the package aims to strengthen deterrence, ensure fairer sentencing and reinforce the rehabilitation of children involved in the justice system.

The most notable provision would allow judges to impose life or aggravated life imprisonment on offenders aged 15 to 18 convicted of intentional murder. Under the proposal, judges would also be given discretion to reduce or eliminate sentence reductions that currently apply to minors in particularly serious cases, based on factors including intent and prior convictions.

The draft would also lower the minimum age for repeat-offender provisions from 18 to 15, a measure the government says is intended to prevent criminal organizations from exploiting teenagers. For children aged 12 to 15, judges would likewise gain greater discretion to impose harsher penalties in serious violent crimes.

Other provisions would require juvenile offenders to begin serving prison terms in closed juvenile correctional facilities before transfer to educational institutions for good behavior. The proposal would also end the rule counting one day served before age 15 as two days when calculating parole eligibility in crimes such as murder, sexual offences, drug trafficking and organized crime.

The legislation would increase penalties for parents whose failure to fulfil family obligations is found to have contributed to a child’s involvement in serious violent crimes. It would also introduce prison sentences of one to three years for firearm owners whose negligent storage allows children to gain access to weapons.

In a shift reflecting a child-rights approach, the bill would replace the legal term “children driven to crime” with “children in judicial proceedings.” It also expands rehabilitation measures, including education, addiction treatment, digital safety and stronger coordination between courts, schools and welfare agencies.

The government aims to secure parliamentary approval before the legislature begins its summer recess.