A campaign to ban the customary practise of aerial firing in Turkey is underway after 24 people were injured and 1 killed by celebratory gunfire following the European Football Championship quarterfinals on 20 June.

11 people were wounded in Istanbul while 13 others, including a 10 year old girl, were caught by ricocheting bullets across seven other cities.

The custom of aerial firing during festivities has resulted in a number of other civilian injuries in recent weeks. 5 people were hurt by bullets fired into the air by celebrating fans after Turkey beat the Czech Republic on 15 June. The same practice killed a 5 year old boy and wounded a further 10 people during a wedding in Adana on 23 June.

According to IANSA member Umut Foundation, celebratory gunfire during festivities claims the lives of around 700 people each year in Turkey. The organisation is calling on the Ministry of Interior to help bring an end to this senseless and dangerous tradition by adopting preventative measures. It is urging the government to give police the power to search suspected offenders during public festivities and encourages the police to do more to enforce the law by giving serious attention to any report of aerial firing.

Both the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and national football coach Fatih Terim have condemned the practise of celebratory gunfire. During a parliamentary meeting, the Prime Minister appealed to fans to refrain from aerial gunfire, since it is “a grave mistake and an unacceptable situation that some of our citizens grab their guns after every victory in the misconception that they are celebrating. Nobody has the right to turn happiness into pain and grief. No victory is more important than human life”. His wife, Emine Erdogan, has also spoken of plans to launch a ‘Campaign against Celebratory Gunfire’, which Umut Foundation is ready to support.