A child born in 2008 and residing in the southeastern province of Urfa was arrested on Jan 5, following a dispute on a digital platform. He faces charges of "threatening by using the names of criminal organizations," "insulting the memory of a person," and "unlawfully obtaining personal data."
While the child is currently held at a children's prison in Hatay, southern Turkey, his family says he suffers from mental health issues and has received long term psychiatric treatment.
Conflicting reports
Investigation documents include an assessment report describing the child's mental capacity as "borderline."
However, documents submitted by the family and defense emphasize that the child has been treated for intellectual disability, attention deficit, and hyperactivity disorder.
The defense criticizes the continued detention while these contradictions regarding criminal responsibility remain unresolved.
Under Turkish law, criminal responsibility requires both the capacity to perceive the legal meaning of an act and the ability to direct one's actions accordingly.
ANKARA MEDICAL CHAMBER
‘1,941 arrested, convicted children in Turkey with their rights, needs disregarded’
Suicide attempts in prison
Lawyers from the Human Rights Association (İHD) visited the facility and reported that the child attempted suicide multiple times and suffered severe crises during his detention.
The family alleges that medications the child used prior to his arrest were not allowed into the prison or were not administered regularly.
They claim they were not notified when medications ran out or about some of the suicide attempts, stating these factors have further deteriorated his health.
RIGHT INITIATIVE ASSOCIATION
‘780 Children are Behind Bars with Their Mothers’
Criticism from MP Uysal
Newroz Uysal, an MP from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Party, the pro Kurdish opposition party, said that the state is isolating the child instead of protecting or treating him.
"There is no concrete justification for the child's arrest. There is no suspicion of flight or tampering with evidence," Uysal said.
She added that the detention of a child with disputed criminal responsibility is legally and conscientiously unacceptable, noting he is a "vulnerable individual who could easily be manipulated."
Legal contradictions and violations
Uysal highlighted that the child was deprived of his liberty before his criminal responsibility was even properly evaluated. During a visit to the Hatay facility in Feb 2026, she documented reports of assault, insults, forced haircuts, and inadequate psychosocial support.
The lawmaker stated these violations are part of a larger problem within the juvenile justice system in Turkey, where children are sent to prisons with a disciplinary logic rather than being protected.
Demand for release
Uysal called for an end to the detention, noting the child's worsening health and repeated suicide attempts.
"We should no longer be talking about detention but about urgent protection and release for this child," she said.
Uysal and Beritan Güneş, another DEM deputy, filed a with the Human Rights Investigation Commission (İHİK) regarding the child’s detention and health condition, and a parliamentary question was submitted to the relevant ministry.
Beritan Güneş, a member of a children's rights subcomittee in the party, filed an application with the commission today at 14.32 pm local time (GMT+3). They also submitted a parliamentary inquiry to the Justice Ministry regarding the child's detention and health status.
