The 11th Justice Package has been accepted by the National Assembly Judiciary Committee. With the AK Party's proposal, domestic murder, sexual assault, and child abuse prisoners were excluded from the scope of Covid evacuation.
The Judicial Committee of the Türkiye Grand Parliament (TBMM) accepted the 11th Judicial Package after 2 days of negotiations.
During the meetings, it was proposed to narrow the scope of Article 27, known to the public as the Covid regulations. With the petition accepted by the committee and the recommendation of AK party members, those who commit intentional murder of children, grandchildren, spouses, divorced spouses, those who cannot protect themselves physically or mentally, women and children are all excluded from the scope of release.
With the proposal accepted by the Committee, those who commit sexual assault and child sexual abuse will also be excluded from the scope of investigation.
COVERAGE BEFORE JULY 31, 2023
Article 27 opens the way for people who committed crimes before July 31, 2023 to receive suspended sentences of the previous 3 years and be transferred to penal camps opened 3 years earlier.
It is expected that 55 thousand prisoners will be released in the first phase, with the provision excluding those in prison for terrorism and organized crime. With the new regulations, this number will also decrease.
PENALTY IS INCREASING
The two provisions in the package, the first 15 of which were accepted the previous day, were adopted by the Commission yesterday. The two adopted regulations are expected to increase penalties for the use of weapons in residential areas (including ceremonies such as weddings and military inductions) and the use of children as tools in criminal organizations.
In addition to hijacking or detaining a transport vehicle, obstructing the movement of a transport vehicle will now incur penalties and penalties for these offenses will also be increased. Anyone who obstructs the movement of a transport vehicle or stops it while it is moving will be sentenced to between 1 and 3 years of imprisonment. Anyone who takes this vehicle from one place to another will be sentenced to between 2 and 5 years of imprisonment.
If the crime is committed by sea or rail transport, the penalty will be from 3 to 7 years in prison. A person who prevents the movement of an air transport vehicle will be sentenced to imprisonment from 5 to 10 years, and a person who takes this vehicle from one place to another will be sentenced to imprisonment from 7 to 12 years.
TCK REGULATIONS
According to the bill, trials for “fraud” will be held in criminal courts of first instance.
The amendment to the Law on the Establishment, Duties and Powers of the Civil Court of First Instance and the Regional Court of Justice aims to prevent jurisdictional disputes arising from the conduct of trials for “fraud” and “qualified fraud” crimes stipulated in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) in different courts.
The amendment to the “Mental Illness” clause of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) aims to both carry out sentences for partially mentally ill patients considered criminally responsible in the legal system, and to implement security measures specifically for mentally ill patients. Accordingly, the person in question will also be subject to security measures specific to mental patients.
The time a mentally ill person stays in a medical facility for treatment and protection cannot be less than one year for crimes with an aggravated life sentence or life imprisonment, and 6 months for crimes with a prison sentence of over 10 years.
PACKAGES ACCEPTED
The GNAT Judicial Committee accepted the 11th judicial package, consisting of 38 articles, with discussions lasting about 10 hours on the second day.
The 11 packages envisage changes in 12 laws that will be on the agenda at the National Assembly after the completion of Budget discussions at the end of December.
