Call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs!
It is very important to maintain security after the football match between Turkey and Germany to determine those who committed crimes by celebrating with firearms, and to punish them …
Armed people who fired bullet to our joy and who transformed the pride into a shame after the football match although all the warnings and the calls made before the football game between Turkey and Croatia, have threatened the life of lot of people by showing the biggest disrespect to human’s life and pride, probably proud of their primitive behaviour. They even turned a blind eye to the “please don’t do it” calls from children who were the target of the stray bullets. Are they going to learn what their barbarities cost when the “shame” bullets will target “accidentally” the bodies of themselves, their children, their spouses and their relatives?
By the fact that armed people do not understand the “You can’t celebrate with guns! Don’t do it!” warnings, security across Turkey shall be assured in a highest level by Governorates and by police forces with a circular which will be published by the Ministry of Interior in order to prevent victory from turning into a nightmare after Wednesday’s match.
At the Umut Foundation, we have officially called for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take steps in the issue of assuring the highest security level in order to prevent the celebrations from being made with firearms after Wednesday’s football match between Germany and Turkey, to determine and then punish those who commit this crime. We want to repeat our call because efforts can be made, those who have been determined or the one suspicious can be searched, can be caught and can be punished in a way the Laws are specified in order to determine those who committed a crime by celebrating with firearms with a circular which will be published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs or with an instruction which will be transferred to Governorates.
The Law of Police Powers which has been discussed up to this point can be used for once to assure the life safety of citizens. This article 9 is looking for preventions to prevent crimes. It is first necessary to determine those who commit crimes by firing in celebrations to be able to punish them appropriately to the law. So it is important to leave the authority of searching to police forces. According to Umut Foundation Member of Management Committee Prof.Dr.Timur Demirbaş’s comment and the information he has given; according to article 9 of the Law of Police Powers: “According to the Law of Police Powers, the police are authorized to search after the judge’s decision and after the governor’s written order in case its delay is found inconvenient”.
It is also important as citizens to report those who shoot in the air to the police…
Besides, informing the police when we hear shots in our region shows that we are sensible on this issue as citizens, and that we request measures to be taken.
It is in addition very important to take the denouncements seriously and to do what needs to be done; celebrating with guns is a crime according to the law. What is important is to determine the crime and to enforce the law seriously. Those who use firearms in celebrations are threatening “our right to life” and it means that citizens are supporting the assurance of security by their notifications in this issue.
Prof. Demirbaş has also indicated that the police forces, which are in charge of maintaining security, can make searches with the judge’s decision or the prosecutor’s decision as per the second paragraph of article 118 of the Law on Criminal Procedure in case, as citizens, we report to the police forces the ones who fire or the places where it has been fired in the environment where we are living.
Firing with Firearms as well with Blank Guns is a Crime!
According to article 213 of Penal Code;
“A person threatening openly in terms of life, health, body or sexual immunity or assets aimed at creating anxiety, fear and panic among people shall be sentenced to between two and four years’ imprisonment. In the event that the crime is committed with a gun, the penalty to be imposed can be increased up to half of the proportion as per the qualification of the gun”.
The fact is that firing with firearms in celebrations causes fear and panic among the public. This by itself is a crime. Yet it can also cause death and injury of people around. Legislators are also aware of this, so they have issued the second paragraph of article 21 of the Turkish Penal Code which is “POTENTIAL ATTEMPT” thinking that those who fires in celebrations should be responsible of the result of their actions.
“There is a potential attempt in case the person performs the action although he foresees that the facts specified in the law will be realized after its crime. In this case, a life imprisonment shall be sentenced in crimes necessitating aggravated life imprisonment and an imprisonment of twenty to twenty-five years shall be sentenced in crimes necessitating life imprisonment; in other crimes, the principle penalty shall be reduced from one third to half”.
According to Umut Foundation Member of Management Committee Prof.Dr.Timur Demirbaş’s comment, this article means the following:
“The law punishes when it is fired with a real gun. Possessing unlicensed weapon has an imprisonment of one to three years, the point in question becomes a potential attempt in case someone dies or is wounded as a result of someone firing with a licensed or unlicensed weapon. If someone fires, foresees that someone can die, says “no matter what”, there is an attempt. The life imprisonment of killing someone on purpose can fall to 20-25 years. Killing someone consciously with negligence has an imprisonment of three to 15 years. In case of injury, the penalties are lesser but they also have a penalty, there isn’t any absence in laws…”
It is in addition necessary to warn those who think that blank gun is a toy and that firing isn’t harm!
When it is fired with blank guns, the crime which is “endangering the general security on purpose” is constituted in the first paragraph and the subparagraph C of article 170 of the Turkish Penal Code. Those who commit the crime are sentenced to imprisonment of 1 to 3 years. Umut Foundation Member of Management Committee Prof.Dr.Timur Demirbaş says as a Penal Law Professor: “Since the public is seized with fear, it is necessary to implement this provision”.
Of course what is important is to keep in mind as citizens that “there shouldn’t be any celebration with firearms”… But, unfortunately instead of waiting the football match between Turkey and Germany with pleasure or with emotion as a “game” and therefore as “an amusement”, we are waiting it with fear….
İs it possible not to agree to Hıncal uluç (June 24th 2008 Sabah Gazetesi/newspaper)!!!!
(Let’s say “Croatian” instead of “German” to the question “Can you imagine how many lives Croatian’s victory will cost?” …)
“Can you imagine how many lives German’s victory will cost?
How many innocent people will die if Turkey advances to semifinal, to final or above all god forbid becomes the champion?
Will you be mad at me if I say “hopefully, you will be eliminated”?...
Have a nice week,
Umut Vakfı