A 29-year-old woman was sentenced to two years in prison in the north on Wednesday for stealing 700TL (€22.41).

The woman, named Kadriye Denise Surucu, had a previous criminal record, having reportedly committed fraud in the past, and burst into tears when the verdict was handed down, crying “two years is too long! My youth has gone!”

The decision was made by a tripartite panel of judges chaired by Fusun Cemaller.

Handing down the verdict, she said Surucu had “coldly entered someone else’s house and taken 700TL from the nightstand,” but noted that the low amount of money stolen worked in Surucu’s favour.

She added that Surucu had “repeatedly committed the same crimes and has not reformed herself,” and added that the crimes she had committed had “created psychological trauma in society.”

Therefore, she said, the punishment for such crimes must be a deterrent to others.