Interior Ministry to propose bill against unlicensed weapons

The Interior Ministry will soon present a legislative proposal to the parliament aimed at imposing harsher and more deterrent penalties on those carrying unlicensed firearms, Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

"In the near future, our ministry will submit a bill to our parliament. We have a proposal concerning the deterrence of penalties related to carrying unlicensed weapons," Yerlikaya said during a meeting in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ.

He noted that with the enactment of this proposal, "citizens will be encouraged to regulate themselves."

Yerlikaya's remarks came in the wake of a recent surge in criminal incidents within the country.

In another move following shocking events that have dominated the national agenda, the Justice Ministry announced that the penal execution system will be reformed, asserting that even minor offenses would result in imprisonment for offenders, thereby addressing the prevailing perception of impunity in society.

Incidents involving individual guns, the majority of which were unlicensed, resulted in the death of a total of 2,500 people in Türkiye last year, according to a report prepared by an NGO.