Twelve international human rights organizations have jointly called on Turkey’s Ministry of Justice to ensure that political prisoners are included in a forthcoming sentence reform bill that could potentially lead to the release of up to 60,000 inmates.
“[We] call on the Turkish government to avoid any discriminatory exception and to respect the basic human rights of all prisoners, in particular, prisoners who are elderly, sick, disabled and with children should be released from prisons immediately,” said the statement.
The draft legislation, expected to be finalized in parliament by the end of this month, aims to expand eligibility to be released under judicial supervision, particularly for individuals sentenced to five years or less. People who committed crimes prior to July 31, 2023, but whose sentences have not yet been finalized would also be eligible under the new law.
The measure is being introduced separately from the broader 10th Judicial Reform Package and is expected to contain 20 to 25 articles.
The new bill is seen as a response to the mounting pressure caused by overcrowding in Turkish prisons. As of March the Ministry of Justice reported that the country’s 395 correctional facilities were housing 398,694 inmates, nearly 99,000 over their combined capacity of 299,940, yielding an occupancy rate of 133.9 percent. Between January and March alone, the prison population grew by more than 14,000, despite the closure of 10 small facilities.
“The Ministry of Justice is preparing a new temporary parole law to reduce prison overcrowding. However, it is regrettable that similar laws passed in 2020 and 2023 discriminate against political prisoners who have been imprisoned under Turkey’s overly broad anti-terrorism provision (Article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code). This means that lawyers, journalists, politicians, artists, judges and prosecutors, and human rights defenders who have been imprisoned or convicted on terrorism-related
charges will not benefit from early release,” said the statement.
The current reform bill excludes those individuals who were imprisoned on terror-related offenses. However, Turkey’s counterterrorism law has been criticized for its broad definition of terrorism and for being used to stifle dissent and suppress freedom of expression.
The latest surge in inmate numbers has been partly fueled by ongoing crackdowns, including arrests related to protests over the imprisonment of İstanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the continued persecution of people affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement.
The Gülen movement, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016, has been subjected to a relentless crackdown that still continues today. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the abortive putsch.
The Turkish government claims that the new legislation is a step to address the prison crisis. However, critics say that without comprehensive reform, particularly of the country’s sweeping counterterrorism laws and restrictions on political expression, the bill may serve only as a temporary fix.
