Constitutional Court orders state to pay 40,000 liras in compensation to family of killed child

ANKARA

The Constitutional Court has ordered the state to pay 40,000 Turkish Liras (around $10,500) in spiritual damages to the family of a nine-year-old child killed in 2010 after a derelict building built by the national postal service (PTT) collapsed.

The ruling concerned the case of a child who entered an unused, single-story building in the eastern province of Muş’s Varto district, who was killed after one of the walls crashed onto him. The child had entered the building with a donkey, which he tried to fasten to the wall.

“Because the deceased in a nine-year-old child, he could not have the judgement ability that adults have. The fact that he entered the building with a donkey does not absolve the public authorities of accountability. The authorities did not take the necessary precautions,” the Constitutional Court stated in its ruling dated Jan. 9.

The disused building was reported to have built by the PTT between 1991 and 1992 before being handed over to the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Institution (TRT) in 1999. However, neither institution ever used the building.