Hamza's victory... He won the 9-year legal battle

Creation Date: February 27, 2025 07:00

Hamza İpek , who was studying at Zübeyde Hanım Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Kırıkhan district of Hatay , was called to the school principal's office on the grounds that he kissed his girlfriend DH on December 9, 2015. Hamza was subjected to severe insults and psychological violence by the female principal and a teacher, and was threatened with expulsion from the school.

93 PERCENT REMAINED DISABLED

Hamza jumped from the balcony across from the principal's office due to the treatment he was subjected to and became paralyzed. He became 93 percent disabled. A decision of non-prosecution was given in the investigation launched against the principal and teacher for the crime of 'inciting suicide'. The İpek Family filed a lawsuit for material and moral compensation against the Ministry of National Education (MEB) through their lawyer Ali Habip on the grounds that the administration had service negligence in the incident.

The Hatay 1st Administrative Court ruled that the school principal and teacher were at fault on the grounds that they “should have held meetings with a guidance counselor who is an expert on the subject to find a solution to the very sensitive situation, but they did not do so,” “if a solution could not be reached through the guidance counselor, they should have contacted the student’s parents and investigated the possible solutions to the problem together, but the necessary sensitivity was not shown at this point,” and “the school administration and teachers did not show an approach to understanding the situation.” The court ruled that a total of 1 million 700 thousand TL in compensation be paid, including Hamza’s care expenses. The court of appeal also approved the decision. The Ministry of National Education then filed an appeal.

'A PRECEDENT DECISION'

The appeal review of the file was conducted by the 8th Chamber of the Council of State . The Chamber ruled unanimously and “finally” to approve the decision. The lawyer of the İpek Family, Ali Habip, argued that the decision was a precedent and said, “The first instance court emphasized in its reasoned decision that administrators and other teachers should be more sensitive to students’ problems. This decision, which will set a precedent for the entire country, has revealed that a more modern understanding of education should be demonstrated. It has been pointed out that school administrators should be more careful in their approach to students, benefit from the knowledge of expert guidance counselors, and find solutions to problems. I think that from now on, the Ministry of National Education should recourse to the administrators in question for this compensation.”