Turkish Council of Ministers will focus on violence

Killings targeting women and children are expected to dominate the new Cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday. President Recep Tayyip Erdoan will chair the meeting which comes after a series of gruesome killings grabbed national headlines, sparking a debate over lenient sentences for people with criminal backgrounds. Most recently, a young man brutally killed two women in Istanbul before committing suicide, while the disappearance of a young girl and the discovery of her lifeless body in southeastern Trkiye caused public outcry. The murder of a policewoman by a man who has not been jailed despite his long list of criminal offenses has added to the woes of a sense of impunity in Turkey's justice system.

Violence and murder against women, particularly by their ex-partners, also remains a thorny problem for Trkiye. The Cabinet will discuss the incidents as well as the impact of social media on instances of violence, from so-called incel groups active on social media accused of perpetuating violence to racist posts. Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Zdemir Gkta is set to present her ministry's work on these issues, including violence risk mapping across the country and counseling services for families, reported Sabah newspaper on Sunday. The Cabinet will discuss new regulations on social media, the same newspaper reported. Ministers will also discuss work on a bill to increase prison sentences.

Turkish authorities are preparing to introduce changes to the penal system to combat the feeling of impunity. According to the Minister of Justice, Ylmaz Tun, a series of legal measures will guarantee the application of sentences to first-time offenders or those with a criminal record, in order to prevent the idea of ​​impunity with verdicts that harm public consciousness.

In addition, new measures would include the creation of a judicial police force to allay concerns over the rapid release of attackers, generally attributed to slow evidence collection or ineffective investigations. This judicial force would be instructed directly by prosecutors rather than by police or gendarmerie services, thus speeding up the process of gathering evidence, eliminating any possibility of overlooked details and strengthening the case against the criminal. President Recep Tayyip Erdoan often warns against this sense of impunity, saying that verdicts that do not address the concerns of the public conscience do not serve social peace. Unfortunately, we sometimes encounter bad examples that fuel a feeling of impunity. We are making efforts to minimize this, he said last month. At a recent parliamentary meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he confirmed that necessary changes would be made to criminal enforcement provisions, ensuring that at least 10 percent of prison time for certain crimes would be served. If someone has five criminal records, the law will allow them to be tried while in custody without waiting for other cases to be completed or added to their criminal record, he said. The length of detention will be determined in proportion to the crimes committed by the person and the penalties imposed on them. We will do whatever it takes to make our people feel safe, he said. There is already a draft in Parliament on these reforms, which will be discussed in the coming weeks.

The Cabinet will also address another popular topic: food security. Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry began publishing daily lists of companies illegally modifying food ingredients, from meatballs to olive oil, and those endangering public health using prohibited ingredients. The lists proved popular with the public and revealed the lengths companies went to to earn more, from using chemicals to color spices to mixing olive and sunflower oil . The ministry also denounced a popular restaurant chain using pork in meatballs it presents as being made from beef. Businesses often get away with hefty fines, while more serious food safety violations result in establishment closures. Media reports say the Cabinet will discuss whether to increase fines for businesses that violate food safety.

The Sabah Daily News Bulletin

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