New statement from Yılmaz Tunç: 'There is a lack of information'

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç made a statement regarding the individual named Selçuk Tengioğlu, who carried out a physical assault on CHP Chairman Özgür Özel.

Minister Tunç's statement is as follows:

"A judicial investigation was immediately launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the physical assault carried out against CHP Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel, and the suspect who carried out the attack has been taken into custody. The investigation is being conducted meticulously and in a multi-faceted manner. It is understood that the individual in question was sentenced to two life sentences and fixed-term imprisonment by the İskenderun 1st High Criminal Court in 2004 for the crimes of intentional murder of two children and intentional injury of two children.

Within the framework of the provisions of the Turkish Penal Code No. 765 and the Execution of Sentences Law No. 647, which were in force at the time the crime was committed, the individual in question was released on parole in 2020 after remaining in a penal institution for 16 years. With the radical reforms made during the AK Party governments in 2005, the Turkish Penal Code and the Execution of Sentences Law were completely changed; both the penalties prescribed for crimes were increased and the execution periods were extended. However, since the attacker committed the crime before these changes, he was released from prison according to the old legislation.

It is clear that if he had committed the same crime under today's legislation, in the event of receiving multiple aggravated life sentences and fixed-term imprisonment, he would have remained in a high-security penal institution for at least 36 years in accordance with Article 107/3-a of the Execution of Sentences Law. Therefore, the assessments in the public sphere that some circles are trying to create, such as 'he received a life sentence and was released,' do not reflect the truth and stem from a lack of information regarding the legal and execution process."

News Source: 12punto