Politics
Turkish Parliament suggests more screening to prevent juvenile crime
A draft report prepared by a parliamentary committee on the prevention of juvenile crime was recently wrapped up and includes diverse suggestions to authorities.
In 2025, Parliament set up the Committee on Children Driven to Crime, a legal term for underage individuals committing crimes, after several murders of children committed by their peers grabbed headlines, along with the rise of criminal gangs recruiting minors as hitmen.
The report proposes a myriad of measures to curb the disturbing phenomenon. Among them are screening programs among preschoolers and primary school students to assess their mental health and social factors affecting their upbringing. Other proposals include broader surveillance of schools and legal amendments for minors involved in crimes to ensure “social justice.”
The draft report will be presented to Parliament’s presidency after more input by lawmakers. The report is composed of six chapters and 691 pages. In an introduction to the report, the committee’s chair, Müşerref Pervin Tuba Durgut, said the issue was tackled by the committee not as a mere judiciary matter but a multi-layered phenomenon affecting society. Durgut said they assessed risk factors driving children to commit crimes within a wide scope of interactions, from the impact of families, schools and peers to neighborhood ties, the digital world and public policies.
For months, the committee heard academics, experts and those affected by crimes committed by children driven into crime and made field visits.
Explaining that a cross-sectional study was also carried out with 610 children selected via stratified random sampling from 4,989 children in juvenile closed penal institutions and juvenile education houses, Durgut said they examined the risk factors the children were exposed to.
“The findings obtained from these studies have clearly demonstrated the need for inter-agency coordination, the importance of early intervention mechanisms, the dissemination of best practices developed at the local level, and the necessity of holistic policies that center the child in crime prevention. The committee’s work has contributed to understanding the multi-dimensional structure of juvenile delinquency and has revealed the importance of holistic, interdisciplinary and practice-based approaches in policy development processes,” she said.
The report also included official statistics and academic studies regarding juveniles dragged into delinquency in Türkiye.
Stating that juvenile delinquency has become a rising trend, the report stated that research on judicial incidents involving children and adolescents has generally developed in an upward direction.
According to the official data, the number of incidents involving children who came or were brought to security units due to an alleged crime rose from 133,829 in 2015 to 202,785 in 2024. The report stated, “Accordingly, an increase of approximately 51.5% occurred in the number of incidents involving children in the last 10-year period. This increase reveals that children’s contact with the judicial system has become more widespread.”
Among other suggestions in the report are mandatory hospitalization and treatment for children (if the court rules in favor) with anti-social behavior, disorders and substance addiction, effective public service models for psychological counseling and crisis intervention for at-risk families. Lawmakers suggested that families at risk should receive employment support and be included in income-generating programs, to prevent children from turning to crime to support themselves or their families.
The report also proposes the installation of camera systems in all schools and the introduction of electronic passes for entry to schools, in light of recent school shootings that have emerged as another threatening aspect of the phenomenon.
Parliament was almost full in the early hours of Tuesday as lawmakers voted on a law for the dissolution of the PKK terrorist group, with a rare record of 467 submitting a “yes.”
The General Assembly convened for a lengthy deliberation early Monday with almost all lawmakers attending the session on the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion.
The law brings deferral for prosecution and sentencing of members of the terrorist group, which agreed to dissolve itself in 2025. It had its fair share of detractors in the ranks of the opposition parties, and the vote also laid bare the divide even within parties. Still, the consensus was almost unprecedented in the session of the 600-seat Parliament.
“What is particularly important here is establishing a sound and sustainable balance between security and freedom, public order and democratic politics, and the security of the state and citizens’ sense of belonging,” Zakir Avşar, a professor from Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, told Daily Sabah.
The adoption of the legislation alone will not determine the outcome of the process, Avşar said, stressing that its implementation will be the critical factor in determining whether the initiative succeeds.
According to the expert, the next phase should remain firmly grounded in the rule of law, while maintaining coordination among state institutions and safeguarding public order. Clear, measured and transparent communication will also be essential to maintaining public confidence and securing broader social support for the process.
Only the Good Party (IP), which has long conditioned itself to reject any move to end PKK terrorism, claimed that the terror-free Türkiye initiative, which gave birth to the law, was a concession to the terrorist group. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that proposed the law cast 268 “yes” votes while 44 lawmakers from its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) approved the law.
Avşar also cautioned against reducing the “terror-free Türkiye initiative” to partisan politics or short-term political debates.
While describing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the driving force behind the vision and the AK Party as the political actor that has spearheaded the initiative, he argued that permanently ending terrorism should ultimately be regarded as a national achievement rather than a victory for any single political party or group.
“The success of this process should therefore be measured not by the political advantage it provides to one side over another, but by its contribution to Türkiye’s common future.”
A total of 35 lawmakers from the main opposition New Party voted in favor of the law while 55 lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is linked to the PKK, also voted yes. Twenty-nine lawmakers of the former main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) voted in favor. Similarly, the New Path Party cast 16 votes in favor.
Opposition divided over bill
The bill was also the first real test of the unity of the New Party, which was established last month by former CHP Chair Özgür Özel, who was ousted from his party over allegations of vote-buying. Özel announced he would vote yes hours before the session, but YP lawmakers overwhelmingly opposed the law. Almost every lawmaker from the party announced within hours in their social media posts that they would vote against the law, leaving Özel and a bunch of his deputies alone at the “yes” camp.
Avşar said differing positions within the opposition should ideally be viewed as competing approaches to managing Türkiye’s broader transformation rather than simply as part of a political confrontation. However, he argued that opponents of the process had so far failed to make a convincing case for their position.
Instead, he said, some of the opposition appeared to be seeking to consolidate voters who are skeptical of the initiative and turn those concerns into political advantage.
Despite political disagreements, the expert argued that ending terrorism should be treated as a national objective that transcends party competition.
“The end of terrorism should not be regarded as the success of any single political party, but as a shared achievement of the nation.”
Özel also incurred outrage among supporters, with social media users accusing him of political maneuvering, with messages of “shame on you” piling up. Social media users questioned how Özel was supposed to unite the opposition to the incumbent government with such a wide difference of opinion among the YP’s lawmakers. Supporters of New Path, including local branches of the party, also voiced their opposition to their leader Mahmut Arıkan endorsing the bill.
Avşar added that political actors should focus on strengthening the conditions necessary to permanently end terrorism, while criticism should help ensure that the process remains within the rule of law, upholds democratic standards and takes public sensitivities into account.
The existence of different views is therefore not a problem in itself, he stated. The greater risk would be allowing what he described as a historic opportunity for Türkiye to become overshadowed by short-term political calculations.
Avşar described the process as a historic opportunity to strengthen Türkiye’s capacity for lasting domestic peace, arguing that permanently ending terrorism could have implications far beyond security.
“A terror-free Türkiye would not be a victory for one political camp, but a gain for all of us.”
On Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi will hold a meeting with governors of 81 provinces for coordinating the next stage of the terror-free Türkiye initiative. Interior Ministry said the meeting would focus on monitoring the process at the provincial level, social cohesion of surrendered members of the PKK, and enforcement of public order. Kurtulmuş, who led the parliamentary leg of the initiative, Çiftçi, who oversees law enforcement, will also discuss with governors possible provocations to undermine the process and combatting disinformation.
The law covers most PKK members who will be able to benefit from its advantages only after the National Security Council formally declares that the PKK dissolved itself and abandoned arms. After the declaration, PKK members will have six months to apply. In return, they will have their prosecution postponed for a period between five and ten years, based on the severity of offenses they have committed while they were a member of the PKK. The PKK’s senior cadres and members involved in intentional murder and other violent crimes will be exempt from leniency.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Ömer Çelik hailed a law related to the terror-free Türkiye initiative that was approved by Parliament early Tuesday. Çelik told a news conference in Ankara on Tuesday that the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion established a legal framework for the initiative, which aims to disband the terrorist group PKK.
“Our goal now is a terror-free region,” Çelik, whose party made the landmark proposal for the framework law, said.
The spokesperson praised Parliament’s vote, saying it had done what it should have done on the matter. “Our president set out a clear road map. Terror-free Türkiye is state policy,” he said.
The initiative began informally in 2024, when government ally and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on the jailed ringleader of the PKK to order his group to lay down its arms. Over time, the initiative received a positive response at the government level and was subsequently transformed into concrete steps.
Öcalan was allowed to communicate with a political party linked to the terrorist group and, through them, called on the PKK to dissolve itself in February 2025. The PKK agreed and announced its dissolution a few months later.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a series of high-level talks in Tripoli on Tuesday, meeting Libya’s prime minister and his national security adviser as he began a two-day diplomatic visit that will also take him to Benghazi.
Fidan met Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, prime minister of Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU), for talks in the Libyan capital.
The two officials first held a one-on-one meeting before talks continued with their respective delegations.
Following the meeting, Fidan held separate talks with Ibrahim Dbeibah, the prime minister’s national security adviser.
Fidan will continue his diplomatic contacts in Tripoli and Benghazi as part of the two-day visit spanning Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fidan arrived in Libya on Tuesday for a two-day visit. The top diplomat’s trip comes one day after the suspected assassination of a senior Libyan intelligence officer serving the eastern-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar, and amid Türkiye’s efforts to promote unity in the North African country.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed last Friday by Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is the focus of a new campaign by the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Directorate.
The deal, which brings the three countries closer together, made its way onto landmarks in Istanbul and Ankara. Images of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif holding copies of the agreement in an iconic photograph were projected onto highly visible locations across the country, including Istanbul’s Galata Tower. Content about the deal was also displayed on digital screens surrounding Ankara’s landmark Atakule Tower on Sunday night. Istanbul’s July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge was illuminated in the colors of the three countries’ flags.
Landmarks in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad and Saudi cities were also illuminated in the colors of the Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani flags to celebrate the deal, while people formed convoys in Pakistan, waving their country’s flag as well as the flags of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.
The agreement embodies the spirit of alliance among the three countries, which already enjoy close ties. One of its key provisions stipulates that an attack on one of the parties would be deemed an attack on all three and would therefore require a joint response.
The agreement came against the backdrop of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, which has spread across the region, with Iran targeting other countries it views as supportive of the U.S. and disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was set to arrive in Libya on Tuesday for a two-day visit. The top diplomat’s trip comes one day after the suspected assassination of a senior Libyan intelligence officer serving the eastern-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar, and amid Türkiye’s efforts to promote unity in the North African country.
Diplomatic sources said Fidan will hold talks in Tripoli and Benghazi in a bid to strengthen Türkiye-Libya relations in all areas, particularly in the political, commercial, energy, military and defense fields, on the basis of mutual benefit and the longstanding bonds of fraternity between the two countries.
Fidan is expected to emphasize the importance Türkiye attaches to Libya’s stability and note that Türkiye is closely following initiatives by the United States and the United Nations in this context.
During Fidan’s visit, consultations are expected on the contributions Türkiye can make to steps to be taken under Libyan ownership and leadership, based on the priority of achieving lasting peace and preserving calm in Libya, sources said.
As a manifestation of Türkiye’s “One Libya” policy, which makes no distinction between the country’s western, eastern and southern regions, the determination to strengthen ongoing dialogue with Libyan authorities is expected to be emphasized, sources added.
The importance of safeguarding the two countries’ shared rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean in line with a win-win approach is also expected to be underlined, according to diplomatic sources.
Libya remains divided between two rival governments: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and based in Tripoli, which administers western Libya, and a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022, currently headed by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which administers the east and most of the south.
For years, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has sought to broker a political settlement leading to elections, which many Libyans hope will end the political divisions and armed conflict that have persisted since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
Turkish sources said the desire to further develop Türkiye’s existing cooperation with Libya in the energy sector on the basis of mutual benefit and to implement new projects is expected to be expressed during Fidan’s talks.
Fidan is also expected to highlight that the safe and sustainable continuation of the activities of Turkish companies, which have a significant presence in Libya, particularly in the construction sector, will contribute to taking economic and commercial cooperation to a higher level and further deepening it.
An exchange of views is also expected on regional and global developments, particularly the Palestinian issue and the situation in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Türkiye-Libya relations
Türkiye and Libya share longstanding historical, cultural and people-to-people ties. Relations between the two countries are being developed in all possible areas on the basis of mutual benefit, with the objective of contributing to the establishment of lasting peace, stability and security in Libya.
In this context, reciprocal high-level visits continue to gain momentum. Most recently, Libya’s Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the margins of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 18, 2026.
Within the framework of its “One Libya” policy, Türkiye gives priority to preserving Libya’s unity, territorial integrity and cohesion, and continues its active efforts to establish lasting stability and preserve calm in Libya.
Based on this approach, Türkiye maintains dialogue with all sides in Libya without distinction between the West, East and South and works together with Libyans to advance relations in all fields.
Türkiye supports U.N. efforts aimed at holding credible, fair and transparent elections in Libya and cooperates with all Libyan stakeholders and the international community.
Türkiye emphasizes the importance of ensuring that steps taken as part of political efforts toward the goal of a prosperous and united Libya, to which the Libyan people aspire, are carried out under Libyan ownership and leadership.
Within the framework of its “One Libya” policy, Türkiye also continues its efforts toward the unification of Libya’s military institutions. The active participation of forces from both western and eastern Libya in the EFES 2026 exercise, held from April 11 to May 21, 2026, constituted a significant step in this direction.
Bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and Libya reached approximately $3.5 billion in 2025.
Despite the prevailing fragile conditions, Libya remains an important market for the Turkish private sector. Bilateral economic relations continue to develop across various fields, particularly in the construction sector.
In this context, the 22nd Türkiye-Libya Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting was held in Tripoli on Jan. 24, 2026.
The Turkish contracting sector undertook its first overseas project in Libya in 1972. To date, Turkish companies have undertaken 633 projects in Libya with a total value of $31 billion. In this regard, Libya ranks as the fourth country where Turkish companies have undertaken the largest number of projects.
More than 40 projects undertaken by Turkish companies are currently ongoing in Libya, with a total value exceeding $2.3 billion.
The steadily developing relations between Türkiye and Libya are also creating new opportunities in the energy sector. In February 2026, TPAO was awarded the right to jointly operate two oil fields in Libya in the country’s first licensing round in 17 years. The agreement concerning these fields was signed in Tripoli on June 15, 2026.
Türkiye’s growing regional influence could increase the potential for friction and conflict with Israel, former Israeli National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat said, warning Israeli authorities against complacency as Ankara expands its role across the Middle East.
Speaking to Israel’s Maariv newspaper on Tuesday, Ben-Shabbat argued that Türkiye is taking advantage of shifting regional dynamics to strengthen its position as a leading Middle Eastern power.
He pointed particularly to Syria, saying Türkiye has emerged as a key player in the country following the collapse of the Baath regime and the withdrawal of Iran’s military presence.
“Ankara is further consolidating its position in the region by financing and training the new Syrian army, building energy and transportation infrastructure and through many other moves,” he said.
Ben-Shabbat also highlighted the Aug. 7 Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, arguing that the pact seeks to provide mutual defense and regional stability without complete reliance on Washington.
“It places Türkiye in a position of diplomatic-military leadership,” he noted.
Turning to the Eastern Mediterranean, Ben-Shabbat argued that Türkiye’s objectives under its Blue Homeland doctrine conflict with Israel’s partnerships with Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, as well as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, potentially creating persistent disputes over maritime jurisdiction and sovereignty.
Despite his warnings, Ben-Shabbat said Israel should not view Türkiye and Iran through the same lens, arguing that the two countries have distinct characteristics requiring different approaches.
He also urged Israel to remain cautious toward regional agreements and avoid relying on other actors for its security.
“We must preserve our security margins,” he said, warning that diplomatic agreements could ultimately be reversed.
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