Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed reintroducing the death penalty for those responsible for the wildfires raging in the south-west of the country. “What should this lead to? A death sentence? It should be the death penalty,” Erdogan told reporters in the fire-stricken resort of Marmaris in Mugla province.
The death penalty, he said, would be a “deterrent” and should be seriously considered, he added. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2002 and parliament would have to agree before Erdogan can introduce this amendment.
The Marmaris forest fire, which has been raging since Tuesday, has destroyed 4,000 hectares of land and 435 people have been evacuated, according to the president.
On Friday, a court in Marmaris sent a man to jail after he “confessed” to set the fire out of anger over a family conflict, state Anadolu news agency reported. A second suspect has been arrested in the tourist town of Antalya, about 500 kilometers northeast of Marmaris.
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