09.04.2025 13:51
AK Party Istanbul Member of Parliament Müşerref Pervin Tuba Durgut reported that President Erdoğan has instructed for a new regulation regarding the penalties for minors involved in crimes, following the death of 15-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, who was killed by two minors. Meanwhile, the trial of the two child suspects related to Minguzzi's death will be held tomorrow.
AK Party Istanbul Deputy Müşerref Pervin Tuba Durgut expressed her sadness over the stabbing death of Minguzzi, who was killed by two children aged 15 while going to the market in Hasanpaşa Neighborhood to buy skateboarding materials with his friends on January 24. Durgut stated that Minguzzi had a very high sense of social responsibility, saying, "Ahmet, as his mother puts it, 'came to this world with a master spirit and a mission.' We believe that mission will lead to a legal change. Hopefully, Ahmet will be a pioneer."
"THERE WILL BE A BLESSED CHANGE LED BY AHMET"
Durgut recalled that President Erdoğan met with Mattia Ahmet's mother Yasemin Akıncılar Minguzzi and father Andrea Minguzzi, and that Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, NUN Education and Culture Foundation Board Chair Esra Albayrak, and she herself attended the meeting, saying, "Our President has been following this issue with great importance since the moment he heard about it. He was very saddened and shared the family's pain. Of course, our esteemed Minister of Justice also participated in that meeting. In fact, President Erdoğan's daughter Esra Albayrak has been closely following the issue from the very beginning. After sharing the sadness, the family especially expressed their demands. Our term for juvenile offenders under 18 is 'children who are driven to crime,' and the penal system regarding them operates a bit differently. However, we have experienced that sometimes the penal system gets stuck in cases like this, where crimes are committed in a way that deeply wounds public conscience and are committed brutally. Our President has given instructions regarding this. While taking preventive measures in coordination with different ministries regarding the point of being driven to crime, he also instructed to regulate the blocked points in the penal system with a legal revision. We are working on this, and hopefully, it will be a blessed change led by Ahmet."
In response to a question about the details of the new regulation, Durgut stated, "We will work on the details according to the dynamics of our own country." Durgut, who reported that she has been examining global examples of penalties given to children driven to crime, said, "For example, in the USA, South Africa, France, and the UK, there can be penalties that foresee life imprisonment for cases where there is a sexual assault or a very brutal murder committed without any reason regarding these juvenile offenders. But how we will implement it in our country and how we will adapt it requires a long study by experts, and it needs to be a study that is suitable for our sociological dynamics. However, it will be a regulation that will relieve public conscience, establish justice, and also serve rehabilitation."
"THERE ARE SOME RISK FACTORS THAT DRIVE TO CRIME"
Durgut explained that preventive measures regarding children driven to crime are also on the agenda, emphasizing that the Ministries of Family and Social Services, Interior, and National Education are working together on this issue. Stating that there are some risk factors that drive to crime, Durgut said, "There are risk factors such as inability to adapt to the city, a history of crime in the family, broken families, being socioeconomically disadvantaged, or other educational risk factors. It is our duty to take early measures for a family or child that harbors these risk factors and to prevent this issue with measures coordinated by all mechanisms of the state, and there are already studies related to this."
PENAL SANCTIONS REGARDING THE FAMILIES OF CHILDREN DRIVEN TO CRIME
When asked whether there is a penal sanction on the agenda regarding the families of children driven to crime, AK Party member Durgut conveyed that there is such a demand from the public. Stating that there is a principle of "personal responsibility for crime" in law, Durgut said, "But unfortunately, sometimes children driven to crime can become a sector and can be exploited by gangs or mafias. Therefore, I find it reasonable to conduct a study regarding this, but of course, it should be done in accordance with legal norms."
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN GAVE INSTRUCTIONS
Durgut noted that President Erdoğan dedicated 1.5 hours to the family and listened carefully, stating, "When we left, Ahmet Mattia's mother said that both our President and his daughter made her feel understood. It was an emotional, sincere meeting." Durgut also mentioned that President Erdoğan gave directives for the legal work on this issue to be carried out immediately after the holiday. Stating that they will follow the case in which two children are being tried for Minguzzi's death, Durgut said, "The first hearing will be on April 10 at 10:00 AM at Anadolu Courthouse. There was a call from the mother that she did not want to be alone there. She called out to all teachers, doctors, and mothers, saying, 'Don't leave me alone.' I also plan to be there that day. It will be an important day."