The trial of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi starts today: Ahmet's grave was vandalized before the hearing.
The Minguzzi family's lawyer, Rezan Epözdemir, had previously filed a criminal complaint with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the grounds that the family was being threatened.
The first hearing of the trial concerning the murder of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, which deeply shocked Turkey, will take place today, with two defendants being tried. Ahead of the highly publicized hearing, it was reported that Ahmet Mattia's grave had been vandalized. In a statement made on social media, lawyer Rezan Epözdemir said, “This morning, there was an attack on the grave of our clients' only child, Ahmet Minguzzi. I spoke with law enforcement officers. They are conducting the necessary investigations at the cemetery. The family has been receiving death threats for about two months. We are currently heading to the hearing.” According to reports by NTV, Mattia Ahmet's grave in Bahçelievler was vandalized late last night. It was also reported that the police were examining the grave. Epözdemir had previously filed a criminal complaint with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office due to the family's threats. It has been revealed that the family, who reported having received threatening messages for almost two months, was threatened with death and harassed by some social media users claiming to be friends of the attacker.
15-year-old Mattia Ahmet lost his life as a result of a knife attack in Kadıköy. The murder sparked intense discussions about youth violence, and the potential impact of the assailant being under 18 on legal accountability has also come to the forefront. The investigation initiated after the incident has been completed, and an indictment was prepared against 15-year-old B.B., who stabbed Minguzzi five times, and 16-year-old U.B., who kicked Minguzzi after he fell to the ground, seeking up to 24 years in prison for "intentional murder against a child." While the Minguzzi family and the public demand the harshest punishment for the defendants, they argue that this case should serve as a deterrent precedent for similar incidents. Legal experts indicate that the application of juvenile reductions under current laws is mandatory. This means that the suspects could be released from the correctional facility in about 10 years under conditional release. Because in Turkey, courts cannot set a precedent decision not to apply age reductions for juvenile defendants under the existing laws, as Article 31 of the Turkish Penal Code is binding, and courts cannot make unlawful decisions. Therefore, unless the Constitutional Court or the Parliament changes the law, it is not possible for children to be tried as adults. If there is a strong public reaction and a proposal for a legal change is presented, the Parliament could amend the Turkish Penal Code to introduce a "Trial as an Adult" type of application. However, current laws do not permit such an application.
Additionally, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had met with the family in recent weeks. The meeting was attended by Mattia Ahmet's mother, Yasemin Akıncılar Minguzzi, father Andrea Minguzzi, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, President of the NUN Education and Culture Foundation Esra Albayrak, and AK Party Istanbul deputy Müşerref Pervin Tuba Durgut. After the meeting, Durgut announced that the issue would be brought to the parliamentary agenda and a new regulation would be made. Durgut emphasized that the term "children in conflict with the law" is used for offenders under 18. "For them, the execution system operates a little differently. However, we have experienced that sometimes the execution system gets stuck in cases like this, which deeply wounds public conscience," she expressed. Durgut also reported that Erdoğan instructed to take preventive measures in coordination with different ministries regarding juvenile delinquency and to regulate the points where the execution system is stuck with a legal revision.
Is the share of children under 18 in crime rates increasing in Turkey? Social media posts suggest that crime rates in Turkey are increasing every day, and the share of offenders under 18 is growing. According to reports from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on "Statistics of Children Brought to or Arrived at Security Units," the number of children reported to security units was recorded as 511,247 in 2019. This number decreased to 450,803 in 2020, and was reported as 499,319 in 2021. The number of incidents involving children brought to security units increased by 20.5% in 2022 compared to 2021, reaching 601,754, but decreased by 10.7% in 2023 compared to 2022, totaling 537,583.
These data reveal fluctuations in the number of children brought to or reported at security units between 2019 and 2021. However, these numbers include not only children in conflict with the law but also those who are victims of crime, missing, or found by security units. Therefore, more specific data is needed to determine the exact number of children in conflict with the law. Additionally, the entrance rates of children in conflict with the law into correctional facilities are also an important indicator. An increasing trend in the number of children aged 12-18 entering correctional facilities was identified between 2011 and 2020. According to the data, a total of 86,211 children entered correctional facilities during this period.
The 2020 report on Correctional Institution Statistics states that 3,937 children aged 12-18 were present in correctional facilities. This situation shows the difference between the number of children referred to judicial authorities and the number of children in correctional facilities. According to the report, the population of correctional institutions was 266,831 as of December 31, 2020, reflecting an 8.5% decrease compared to the same date in 2019.
As a result, the current data indicate a certain upward trend in the involvement of children under 18 in crime in Turkey, but more detailed and up-to-date data is needed to understand the precise dimensions and causes of this increase.