The number of minors involved in organised crime in Turkey has soared by more than 230%, according to a recent report published by the Ministry of Interior. The document also points to other alarming data, such as the fact that, on average, minors were linked to around 15% of intentional homicides registered during the last five years.
According to Turkish media, the report states that in 2025, 71% of juvenile offenders were between 15 and 17 years old, while 29% were in the 12-14 age group. Authorities counted a total of 1,764 intentional homicides last year, 266 of which involved minors, with a total of 478 adolescents identified as participants in these crimes. The data also confirms that, on average, minors have been present in about 15% of intentional homicide cases in the last five years.
In this context, the ministerial report underlines that, in 2025 alone, 266 of the 1,764 intentional homicides were committed by juvenile detainees, and that some murders involved several teenagers, as was the case in the murders of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi and Atlas Çağlayan, both killed after being stabbed in the street in Istanbul following an argument with other minors.
236% more minors involved in organised criminal networks
The analysis of crimes committed by juvenile delinquents shows significant increases: a 68% increase in intentional injuries, a 64% increase in sexual offences and a 144.8% increase in offences related to drugs. The report highlights that the biggest current problem is the instrumentalisation of minors by criminal gangs, with an increase of 236.4% in the number of adolescents involved in organised criminal networks.
Tellingly, the average age at which the eleven top leaders of criminal organisations currently targeted by law enforcement agencies began their criminal activities is 17.7 years old: seven of them were minors and four of them had reached the age of 18 when they committed their first crime. The report also warns that these organisations use minors, especially in shootings, as the weak deterrent capacity of existing laws means that these groups consider minors to be “low-risk recruits“.
The ministerial paper also includes comparisons of criminal liability in different countries. In France, it starts at the age of 13; in Germany, at 14; in the UK, at 10; and in 24 US states, there is no minimum age limit for criminal responsibility for crimes committed.
In this respect, the document prepared by the Interior Ministery includes a series of recommendations and proposes legal changes for minors between 15 and 18 years of age involved in offences such as intentional homicide, organised crime, drug trafficking or terrorism. It also proposes that a medical evaluation of the manner in which the crime was committed should be requested and that, if it is concluded that the minor acted with a conscience similar to that of an adult, he or she should be held fully responsible and not receive a reduced sentence.
Tougher penalties for crimes committed by adolescents
The Turkish government announced last year that it would push for legislative reform to toughen penalties in cases of serious crimes committed by minors, especially in the wake of the strong social impact caused by the murder of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed and beaten to death by two other minors with whom he had had a previous argument in a market in Kadıköy (Istanbul). After the crime, his family even received death threats from the killers’ entourage.
The current Turkish penal code allows for sentence reductions for minors and prohibits life imprisonment, even for the most serious crimes. However, after this and other murders committed by teenagers, prominent voices in Turkish politics and society have warned that the current system “does not work” and “does not guarantee justice“, so the government has spent months studying models from other countries where sentences for crimes committed by minors can be more severe, especially in cases of sexual crimes or extreme violence.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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