Didim Today

I’m so sorry that you had this experience and I hope that you will never be faced with such a situation again. Trust me when I say that we as citizens of this country may also face similar problems with authorities. It has nothing to do with the officers and people; in fact, the legal system has some obvious defects. The law does not punish a thief properly. Because the imprisonment for burglary is very small, it falls under the threshold which enables the thief to pay a fine in a criminal court without being arrested.

This is ridiculous because the state is obliged to protect our property; it is a duty mandated by the Constitution. Therefore, releasing a thief without proper punishment is a failure on behalf of the state to fulfill its obligation of protecting the citizen.

The criminal system must be amended and modified to ensure that such burglars go to jail for many years. The police do not even bother to catch these violators because they are sure to be released within hours due to this defective law. I even heard about a guy who caught the burglar, hit him in the face and broke his nose.

The burglar went to jail and was then released. Can you believe this? It is absolutely ridiculous. This burglar comes, breaks into a house intentionally to steal property and does anything he likes, and you can’t touch this life form. You don’t want to know how frustrated I am about this. My house was about to be broken into once and I was lucky enough to wake up and push the guy back out.

Once, my wife’s bag was stolen and we lost three months of video recordings of kids, a video camera, a camera, a cell phone and some cash. Because we put a lot of pressure on the authorities and followed up in hopes of retrieving the recordings, the thief was caught in a couple of days.

She had 124 other criminal records of the same crime and there were more than 50 criminal cases pending against her. She never spent more than six months in jail. What can I say, the law must change. Let’s not get sidetracked. What should you do if your ID, passport or residence permit book is lost? In case you get robbed or lose your wallet: First of all, immediately report this theft/loss to the local police or military police gendarmerie — in the area in which the theft occurred.

This must be done within a reasonable period of time, and don’t forget to keep a copy of the report made by the local police station because you will need many copies if things go wrong. This report is important as it prevents abuse of your passport. After obtaining this report, you should apply to the consulate of your home country personally for the replacement of the passport. It would be better and make things easier if you have the documents that prove your identity and citizenship. For example, a copy of your passport or identity card will be very helpful.

You can apply for a replacement residence permit after you receive your passport because the police station’s foreigner’s department will never accept photocopies of your lost passport. To get a new residence permit, the required documents are: four photos, the passport, photocopies of the passport (including the page bearing your photo, the page stamped at your last entry, and the page showing validity and expiration dates) and the lost property report (“Kay?p E?ya Tutana??”), which is prepared by the local police or military police in the area in which the theft occurred.

I have fantastic news for you: The law related to fees (“Harçlar Kanunu”), numbered 492, works to your benefit; when renewing a lost or stolen residence permit, the fee is equal to half of the residence permit fee. In addition, you will pay the booklet fee. In my opinion, what you have paid is excessive and you may ask for a refund.

About your friend who was injured during the struggle with the thief, this is important because the theft itself is not really punished. But an injury caused during the robbery is deemed as a serious crime and may get the criminal convicted and sentenced to about 10 years in prison. You may want to take this matter to a lawyer who is specialized in criminal matters.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it