ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Turkiye would toughen up its justice system to crack down on crime, after a string of gruesome murders sent shockwaves through the country.
Turkiye has struggled to contain a recent wave of femicides, with a young man suspected of slaying two 19-year-old women — beheading one — in Istanbul last week before taking his own life.
A 26-year-old policewoman was also killed in late September by a suspect with a lengthy criminal record.
Erdogan said he was intent on making it easier to detain suspects likely to reoffend, and on stiffening release conditions for convicts sentenced to up to five years behind bars.
The proposed measures would require a change to the criminal code and other laws making up the justice system.
“A series of recent events, from the martyrdom of a policewoman to the brutal murder of (two) young women, have provoked a justified reaction within our nation,” he told his AKP party’s parliamentary group.
The head of state said he also planned to firm up Turkiye’s sentence enforcement system to avoid releasing detainees before they complete ten percent of their jail term.
“It bothers us, as it does everyone else, to see criminals with dozens of cases on their criminal records, walking around freely,” he added.
The number of cases would be taken into consideration to facilitate the detention of an individual, even if their trial is under way and a verdict is pending, according to the president.
One monitoring group says there have been 290 murders of women this year in Turkiye, with more than 160 “suspect” killings officially classed as suicides or accidents.
Erdogan says Turkiye to curb crime after wave of murders
https://arab.news/g8jtn
Erdogan says Turkiye to curb crime after wave of murders
- Erdogan said he was intent on making it easier to detain suspects
- “A series of recent events, from the martyrdom of a policewoman to the brutal murder of (two) young women, have provoked a justified reaction within our nation,” he told AKP
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
