High court overturns decision over pit bull attack
ANKARA
A high court has overturned a trial concerning a pit bull attack on a child three years ago in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri’s Develi district, putting forward the opinion that the dog’s owner should be punished for committing the crime of “negligent injury.”
Amid an ongoing debate that sparked over the fate of stray animals following a recent gruesome incident in which a 4-year-old girl in the southeastern province of Gaziantep became the victim of a pit bull attack, a crucial decision came from the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals.
The court overturned the verdict to impose a fine of 500 Turkish Liras ($42) on the owner of a pit bull dog in a trial held at a local court after the dangerous breed attacked a child in the Develi district three years ago.
The court sent the case back to the local court with a dissenting opinion, saying the owner of the dog should be punished for committing the crime of “negligent injury,” which requires punishment at the highest limit.
“The crimes of negligent injury and the release of an animal in a way that could cause danger have surfaced in the incident,” the court said in its review.
The accused will be tried again after the decision reaches the local court.
Meanwhile, five people have been arrested so far in the case concerning the latest pit bull attack on the 4-year-old in Gaziantep.
The prosecutor’s office ordered a duo, identified only by initials M.E. and S.K., who had previously been released pending trial, to be detained again on the ground that new evidence had emerged.
The suspects, who were transferred to the courthouse after their proceedings at the gendarmerie station, were arrested by a court on the charge of “qualified willful injury.”
