What happens if my child finds my licensed firearm at home and harms someone?

You may be sentenced to 1 to 3 years of imprisonment solely due to your negligence; if harm has occurred, your penalty will be further aggravated.

Can grocery stores or supermarkets sell pocketknives or knives to persons under the age of 18?

No, it is prohibited. An administrative fine starting from 5,000 TL is imposed on the business making the sale.

What is the digital tracking precautionary measure?

It is the monitoring by the BTK of the phones and computers used by the child pursuant to a court order and the blocking of access to specific websites.

LAWS18 August 2026

Sale of Knives to Persons Under the Age of 18 is Prohibited

Official titleLaw No. 7593 on the Amendment of the Child Protection Law and Certain Laws

Under Law No. 7593, radical changes have been made in the criminal and execution of the sentence systems to protect children and prevent their involvement in offenses; the negligent storage of firearms has been criminalized, and the sale of knives to persons under the age of 18 has been prohibited.

Details of the Regulation

This comprehensive legislative amendment imposes a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years on those who, through negligence, cause firearms to be obtained by children. With the amendment made to the Turkish Criminal Code, the penalty reduction rates applied to juvenile offenders have been lowered, and judges have been granted the discretion not to apply reductions in serious offenses such as intentional killing. Furthermore, penalties imposed in the event that parents breach their obligations regarding the child have been increased, and an aggravated penalty is provided for, without requiring a complaint, if this breach leads to the child committing a serious offense.

A new mechanism named 'Orientation Measures' has been established in the process of execution of the sentence and rehabilitation. In this context, pedagogically focused sanctions such as community service, protection from digital risks (device monitoring), book reading, and environmental cleanup may be applied to children undergoing judicial proceedings. In addition, abandoning the terminology of 'juvenile pushed into crime', the phrase 'child in judicial proceedings' has been adopted, and a sanction of coercive imprisonment for up to 10 days has been introduced in the event that parents fail to comply with protective precautionary measure decisions.

With the article added to the Law on Misdemeanors, carrying knives for non-intended purposes and selling knives to persons under the age of 18 have been prohibited. An administrative fine between 5,000 TL and 10,000 TL shall be imposed on those who fail to comply with this prohibition. The statute has also tightened the conditions for transfer to juvenile detention centers in the execution of the sentence system by subjecting them to the opinion of an expert panel, and has continued to count each single day spent in prison by children under the age of 15 as two days in the calculation of the execution of the sentence, with the exception of serious offenses.

REGAS Commentary

This legislative amendment indicates that the state has toughened its approach toward children on the axis of 'protection and supervision' in its strategy of 'combating offenses'. In particular, the direct threat of imprisonment imposed on firearm owners emphasizes that home security has become a legal obligation. The authority for digital tracking, on the other hand, points to a new and controversial phase in the integration of the judicial system with technology.

Questions You Might Have

What happens if my child finds my licensed firearm at home and harms someone?: You may be sentenced to 1 to 3 years of imprisonment solely due to your negligence; if harm has occurred, your penalty will be further aggravated.
Can grocery stores or supermarkets sell pocketknives or knives to persons under the age of 18?: No, it is prohibited. An administrative fine starting from 5,000 TL is imposed on the business making the sale.
What is the digital tracking precautionary measure?: It is the monitoring by the BTK of the phones and computers used by the child pursuant to a court order and the blocking of access to specific websites.

Key Terms

Adli Süreçteki Çocuk: The new legal definition adopted to avoid stigmatizing the child, replacing the previously used term 'Juvenile Pushed into Crime'.
Tazyik Hapsi: A prison sentence in the nature of disciplinary imprisonment, applied to compel the performance of an obligation.
Sosyal İnceleme Raporu: The expert report analyzing the child's social, economic, and psychological situation, which is made mandatory during the trial process.

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