Justice Minister Tunç on 'unjust provocation reduction': 'Flawless decisions are a justified expectation'

In his speech at the "18th Meeting of the Coordination Board for Combating Violence Against Women" held at the Ankara Courthouse, Tunç said that they continue their work without compromise and without interruption to show every woman who knocks on the door of justice that she is not alone, and to stop every unjust hand reaching out to them through the law.

Stating that eradicating violence against women is only possible through a comprehensive struggle carried out with determination, Tunç conveyed that the gathering of all stakeholders around the same table is valuable and essential for achieving results.

Yılmaz Tunç expressed that violence against women is a war waged against human rights and dignity, and a black stain on the conscience of society, saying, "Violence against women is a cancer that rots society from within, a deep wound opened in the heart of humanity. Because when a woman's voice is silenced, the spirit of society is also damaged. When a mother's tears flow, human dignity is harmed and wounded. That is why we stand tall against all forms of violence that touch the dignity of women, and we must continue to do so. We reject violence against women unconditionally and without hesitation, without hiding behind any excuses or justifications."

Noting that they are strengthening the legal system to ensure that violence against women does not go unpunished, Tunç said they will resolutely continue both the victim-oriented understanding of justice and the steps taken to ensure that perpetrators of violence against women receive the punishment they deserve.

Tunç recalled that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they have implemented many regulations regarding women's rights and the fight against violence against women over the last 23 years.

Reminding that with the changes in the penal code, they have accepted the commission of crimes such as "intentional killing," "intentional injury," "torture," and "deprivation of liberty" against women as an aggravating factor in sentencing, Tunç noted that the crime of "intentional injury" committed against women has been included among the crimes that are considered grounds for arrest in the presence of strong suspicion of guilt.

Tunç said, "We have also implemented a regulation stating that the attitudes and behaviors of the perpetrator aimed at influencing the court during the hearing, often referred to as 'tie-wearing reduction' just to receive a good conduct reduction, cannot be accepted as a reason for discretionary reduction."

PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS

Explaining that they have established judicial interview rooms that allow women and children who are victims of crime to give their statements in private environments with the support of experts, without coming face-to-face with the perpetrators, Tunç continued as follows:

"As of today, 134 thousand 432 judicial interviews have been conducted in 174 judicial interview rooms across 165 courthouses in our 81 provinces. Furthermore, our judicial support and victim services directorates, which we have established in 81 provinces and which number 172, make all victims, especially children, women, disabled and elderly individuals, feel that they are not alone in the judicial process. Since their establishment in 2019, these directorates have provided information to 198 thousand 746 people, prepared 539 thousand 477 social investigation reports, participated in statements in 138 thousand 736 files, and provided psychosocial support to a total of 1 million 744 thousand 625 people during the judicial process."

Tunç recalled that the 4th Judicial Reform Strategy Document was announced to the public last week by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stating that the document aims to develop practices regarding women's rights in line with the principle of "zero tolerance for violence against women" and to strengthen the access of women who are victims of violence to justice.

'UNJUST PROVOCATION' REDUCTION

Using the expression, "There have recently been some discussions and complaints in the public opinion regarding judicial decisions and the decisions made regarding unjust provocation," Tunç noted the following:

"In line with the meetings we have held with both academics and practitioners on this issue, we believe there is a need for a regulation regarding the application of 'unjust provocation' in our legislation, and we will have a proposal for our members of parliament in this regard. The lower limit of the sentence to be given to someone who commits a crime requiring life imprisonment under unjust provocation is currently 12 years. We will submit to the discretion of our members of parliament that this be 16 years, and that the upper limit, which is currently 18 years, be 22 years.

Again, if a person has committed a crime requiring aggravated life imprisonment under unjust provocation, the lower limit is currently 18 years; we will submit to the discretion of our members of parliament that this be increased to 22 years, and the upper limit, which is currently 24 years, be increased to 30 years. The discretion belongs to our members of parliament and our Parliament."

Tunç announced that they will implement important activities regarding the 5th National Action Plan on Combating Violence Against Women, which will cover the years 2026-2030, and explained that in this context, they will hold dialogue meetings on combating violence against women through field visits and provide training to personnel in judicial support directorates on combating violence against women.

Stating that they will increase the number of judicial interview rooms, Tunç indicated that they will continue to prepare and distribute informative materials for victims and ensure that risk analysis regarding repeated cases of violence is carried out more effectively.

Tunç conveyed that they will continue all their work, including programs containing anger management for individuals convicted of acts of violence against women, more effectively.

"THE TURKISH JUDICIARY MAKING FLAWLESS DECISIONS IS A JUSTIFIED EXPECTATION OF OUR CITIZENS"

Emphasizing that every step and innovation taken in the fight against violence against women can only gain meaning through the correct, timely, and determined application of justice, Yılmaz Tunç made the following assessments:

"The expectation of the Turkish nation from the independent Turkish judiciary, which makes decisions on its behalf, is that all our courts should be more sensitive in cases of violence against women and not wound the conscience. It is a justified expectation of our citizens that the Turkish judiciary should act immediately and make flawless decisions on issues that society is sensitive about, such as violence against women. However, it should not be forgotten that justice is the product of a process, not a single decision. Effective legal remedies are open against all decisions made in our three-tier judicial system. The scales of justice will eventually find balance within their own course, even if there is a mistake."