ANKARA — Hasan Erdoğan, Chair of the Ankara Bar Association’s Child Rights Centre, warned that the incarceration of minors is contributing to higher crime rates among children in Turkey. “The more detention is used, the more crime increases. 90% of children who are imprisoned return to prison within a year,” he said.
According to the Turkish Ministry of Justice, as of June 2, 2025, there are 4,293 children in prison, including 1,341 convicted and 2,952 detained minors. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) has not published updated data on detained children since 2023. Erdoğan emphasized that Turkey’s Child Protection Law No. 5395 is largely ignored in practice.
‘CHILDREN REFLECT SOCIETY’
Erdoğan highlighted poverty as the key driver behind juvenile crime: “60% of children in Turkey live below the hunger line. Around 2 million children are forced to work, and many cannot attend school for economic reasons. Most juvenile crimes are theft-related, crimes rooted in poverty.”
Describing children as mirrors of their environment, Erdoğan said that crime has become normalized in Turkish society: “Turkey ranks among the highest globally in terms of its incarcerated population. People are not at peace with society or with each other, and this impacts children.”
He criticized the frequent use of detention over protective measures, despite legal requirements to prioritize non-custodial solutions for minors.
OUTDATED LEGAL STANDARDS
Erdoğan strongly criticized Turkey’s legal age of criminal responsibility, which starts at 12: “A 13-year-old may know they did something wrong, but they can’t comprehend that it might lead to 10 years in prison. In many countries like Germany, the age is 21, and there are no juvenile prisons as we know them. Instead, they use restorative justice to prevent youth from being criminalized.”
‘PRISONS ARE PRODUCING CRIMINALS’
He pointed out serious flaws in the juvenile justice system, including the lack of proper implementation of existing laws: “Children are often handcuffed, in violation of the law. They are frequently detained by adult courts instead of juvenile courts. Prisons produce more crime, not less. A child imprisoned for petty theft often returns for more serious offenses.”
DETENTION CONDITIONS ARE INHUMANE
Erdoğan criticized the conditions in Turkey’s juvenile detention centers: “There are only nine juvenile prisons in Turkey, eight for boys and one for girls. When these are full, girls are sent to adult women’s prisons, which is unacceptable. Children are also vulnerable to abuse within juvenile facilities. We have repeatedly called for their closure.”
He noted that children in closed prisons are denied access to proper education and family visitation rights, unlike those in "education homes."
20 CHILDREN HAVE DIED IN PRISONS OVER 10 YEARS
“At least 20 children have died in Turkish prisons in the past decade, 12 of them by suicide,” Erdoğan said. He emphasized the psychological toll of incarceration, citing the lack of psychologists and pedagogical support in these facilities.
The European Court of Human Rights previously ruled against Turkey in a case involving a child's suicide in prison, citing a violation of the right to life.
MASS ARREST OF CHILDREN IN DRUG OPERATION
Erdoğan also revealed details from a recent incident in Ankara: “In a drug raid, 97 out of 500 detainees were children. Their rights were violated at every stage. They were handcuffed, forced to lie on the ground, interrogated by the wrong prosecutors, and 94 were ultimately detained. Due to overcrowding, they were transferred to a prison in Samsun, cutting them off from their families and schools.”
He concluded: “The state lacks a child-centered policy. Imprisonment is used as a short-term solution, but it damages children for life.”
MA / Sema Bingöl