cuchulainn
Member
from the Evening Times (UK)
http://ww1.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5021103.html
http://ww1.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5021103.html
Turks tighten gun laws after boy's death
TOUGHER sentences for gun violence will be introduced in Turkey following the death of a Scots toddler.
Two-year-old Alistair Grimason, from East Kilbride, died after being hit by a stray bullet when a gunfight broke out in a Turkish cafe.
He had been sleeping in his pushchair while his mother sat in a cafe in Foca while on a family holiday in July.
His parents David and Ozlem have been calling for tighter gun controls since their son's death and the latest news will help their campaign.
According to Turkish anti-gun campaign group the Umu Foundation, a review commission set up by the government has agreed to increase the minimum sentence to 13 years.
Although too late to help Alistair, campaigners hope the new law will be introduced early next year.
Alistair was the latest victim of the gun crime in Turkey where almost 100 children each year die in gun violence.
Jail sentences for people found guilty of accidental death by firearms can be as little as two years.
Tanzer Gezer, executive director of the foundation, said: "We have been campaigning for this for 10 years and finally the commission has said the penalty should be increased for accidental death due to firearms.
"It is upsetting that it has taken the deaths of many children, including Alistair, to help us clarify our point."
David has addressed an anti-gun rally in Istanbul and the couple have campaigned for changes to Turkey's gun laws.
A petition calling for handguns to be banned has been signed by more than 100,000 people in Scotland and Turkey.
Daimi Akyuz, a car dealer, was arrested in connection with Alistair's killing.
The trial is due to begin on December 11.
