Prosecutors demand up to three years in jail for 13-year-old involved in Soma protest

İZMİR

A 13-year-old faces between six months and three years in jail for participating in a protest in the Aegean province of İzmir on May 17. The protest took place after the mining disaster in the nearby town of Soma that claimed 301 lives.

The boy is charged with “opposing the Assembly Law,” in a case that drew public attention after it was initially reported that a 10-year-old had been taken by police during the protest.

The İzmir Governor’s Office later stated that the boy’s real age was 13 and denied that any custody procedures had been applied to him. Officials said the police officers had only taken the boy “to move him away from the group,” and released pictures and videos to show that he had actively participated in the protests.

According to Doğan News Agency, prosecutors assessed the boy as a “child dragged into crime,” which enabled lawsuits possibly resulting in prison sentences to be opened, according to the law.