The short answer is no. The Law does not leave a child unprotected because they are the offender; on the contrary, Article 21(c) of Law No. 5187 names offender and victim in the same clause: it is an offence to publish in a manner disclosing the identity of or enabling the recognition of “offenders or victims of an offence who are under eighteen years of age”.
Terminology: “child pushed into crime”
In Turkish law the term used for those under eighteen is “child pushed into crime” (suça sürüklenen çocuk) rather than “child offender” or “child defendant”. The term comes from the scheme of Child Protection Law No. 5395 and is not accidental: it foregrounds the child’s need for protection rather than their culpability. Using it in news writing is both accurate and safe.
Three layers of protection
| Layer | Provision | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Law No. 5187, Art. 21(c) | Publication disclosing identity or enabling recognition is an offence |
| Hearing | CPC Art. 185/1 | Where the defendant has not completed eighteen years of age the hearing is closed; the judgment is pronounced in closed session |
| Publication | CPC Art. 187/2 | The content of a closed hearing may not be published by any means of communication |
| Principle | Law No. 5395, Art. 4(l) | Measures are taken to prevent the identity being determined by others |
What you can report
The prohibitions do not make reporting impossible. A story can be told within a frame that neither leads to identification nor conveys the content of a closed hearing:
- The type of offence and its social dimension
- The offender’s age band, at a level of generality that does not lead to identification
- The stage the proceedings have reached
- Officially disclosed public information
- Expert assessment and the statistical context
Indirect identification is the main risk
Even without the child’s name, the following may lead to recognition and fall within Article 21:
- Giving the name or image of a parent or sibling
- The school name, class or uniform
- The neighbourhood, village or building name
- Indirect identification through the victim’s identity, especially in domestic cases
- The date and place of the incident given together with the offender’s age
Photographs and footage
Even where the face is blurred, the test remains publication “in a manner enabling recognition”. Voice, clothing, height, gait or a distinctive object may lead to identification and put the publication in breach. Separately, Article 285/5 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to publish images during the investigation and prosecution stages in a manner leading to the person being perceived as guilty.
Sanctions and liability
A breach of Article 21 attracts a judicial fine; because the amounts in the Law are in pre-2005 lira, the conversion in Article 5 of Law No. 5252 applies. Who bears criminal liability is determined by Article 11 of Law No. 5187: in periodicals the author of the work is liable as a rule, and liability passes to the responsible editor and the official to whom they report in cases such as the author not being known.
On the damages side, under Article 13 of Law No. 5187 the author of the work together with the owner of the publication and their representative, if any, are jointly and severally liable.
The general identity rules are in the naming guide and closed hearings in the closed hearing guide.