The Turkish government announced a set of tougher measures against pedophiles yesterday following a public outcry over a child abuse suspect caught red-handed in the southern city of Adana.
Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül told reporters that they would use chemical castration on convicted pedophiles through a regulation that will be introduced "within a few days."
The punishment will be applied after court approval.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara Wednesday, Abdulhamit Gül said a commission will start working on the issue this week and will focus on new legal and administrative measures against child abusers.
"A commission supervised by a deputy prime minister will start working as of tomorrow [Thursday]," he said, adding the commission would be discussing all legal and administrative measures including chemical castration.
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that child abuse cases, which recently saw an apparent spike, could "lead to the collapse of our society."
"It is our responsibility to safeguard the innocent -- who are part of our lives -- from all kinds of threats and danger in addition to raising them and ensuring their survival," he said.
He said those who committed such criminal acts would not get any leeway in the country's judicial system.
