One in five Turks under investigation in 2025
Some 83 arrest warrants have been issued and 93 Telegram groups blocked following attacks on two schools. Yesterday, nine people were killed (including the attacker) and 13 wounded in Kahramanmaras province. The previous day, a high school in Urfa was attacked. The Ministry of Justice's 2025 report notes that 16.7 million people were under investigation.
Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Turkish authorities issued at least 83 arrest warrants this morning for as many suspects, as part of an investigation into the two, recent deadly school attacks in Sanliurfa and Kahramanmaras. A crackdown is also underway on social media, with hundreds of accounts blocked for violent content.
In a press release, Turkey's General Directorate of Security stated that the warrants targeted individuals accused of sharing content glorifying crime and criminals or aimed at disrupting public order in the wake of the attacks.
“Arrest warrants have been issued for 83 individuals identified as having engaged in posts and activities that glorify crime and criminals and aim to disrupt public order,” the statement reads.
In the past few hours, cybercrime experts have also blocked access to 940 social media accounts and closed 93 groups on Telegram, a popular messaging and communications platform.
The restrictive measures were issued in the aftermath of a shooting at a middle school in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, which left nine people dead and 13 wounded, six of them seriously, according to Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi.
Kahramanmaras Governor Mukerrem Unluer later said that an eighth-grade student carried out the attack at Ayser Çalık Secondary School. The shooter died during the assault but so far, his motives remain unknown.
The suspect entered two classrooms and opened fire indiscriminately using weapons he had brought, concealed in a backpack.
It is currently unclear whether the young attacker was killed in the firefight or committed suicide after killing others. Authorities said the weapons may have belonged to the shooter’s father, a former police officer. According to initial reports, the attacker had five firearms and seven magazines.
One of the aims of the investigation, which is just starting, is to shed light on the young man's motives.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gürlek said prosecutors have launched a full probe into the attack.
Education Minister Yusuf Tekin travelled to the region following the incident, while his ministry confirmed that at least four ministerial inspectors have been sent to the area to examine the incident and assist with the investigation.
Due to the young age of the victims and to protect the work of magistrates, the Ministry of Justice has imposed a news blackout.
Yesterday's attack is the second in a Turkish school in recent days, in a nation where shootings or incidents of violence with multiple victims in schools are rare.
The day before, Tuesday, a 19-year-old former student opened fire at a high school in Urfa, in the southeast, wounding 16 people. Local sources report that the attacker killed himself while police were trying to convince him to surrender and hand over his weapons.
In a country currently grappling with such acts of violence and the use of deadly weapons, s report published by the Ministry of Justice, with statistics for 2025, provides some background.
The data raise several concerns about the health of democracy in Turkey and the role played by the courts.
Last year, one in five people was the subject of a criminal investigation, with at least 13.3 million case files, and the number of suspects reaching 16.7 million people out of a total population of around 86 million, including 330,000 children.
Also striking is the figure of more than one million restraining orders issued for incidents of violence against women.
Last year, a total of 22.9 million criminal allegations were made, or one in five people ending up in the crosshairs of the judiciary for some reason.
Out of 13.3 million cases, six million were opened in 2025 with crimes against property, crimes against freedom, and crimes against honour ranking as the top three reasons under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
The number of cases arriving on the prosecutors’ desks rose by 57 per cent in a decade: from 7.4 million in 2016 to 11.6 million.
The report also shows an increase in the workload, with 3.8 million cases brought before a court, a significant increase from 2.4 million in 2016 (+58.4 per cent).
A total of 3.9 million people were tried last year, with 3.4 million sentences issued; in 43.4 per cent of cases, people were convicted, while in 20.3 per cent of cases, they were acquitted. The verdict was postponed in 21.6 per cent of cases, while other decisions accounted for 14.7 per cent.
The total number of cases resolved in 2025 was 2.3 million. The average length of criminal court proceedings was 248 days.
Finally, last year, courts examined 332,648 cases involving 330,496 children.
Custodial sentences were handed down in 28,225 cases, with fines imposed in 21,362.
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