Turkish authorities have denied the release on parole of Tamer Tanrıkulu for a second time, despite his eligibility in February 2024, the Artı Gerçek news website reported on Friday.
Tanrıkulu, who was initially due for release on February 3, had his parole postponed by three months following a decision by the prison’s Administration and Observation Board. The decision was based on a lack of good conduct, Tanrıkulu’s participation in prison protests and his refusal to accept certain prison rules.
The board later extended his arrest again, arguing that Tanrıkulu’s refusal to answer questions about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during a review suggested ongoing ties to the group.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Following the second extension, Tanrıkulu’s lawyer, Yusuf Çakas, challenged the decision in court. An Aksaray court noted inconsistencies in the board’s reasoning, pointing out that there was no evidence of Tanrıkulu’s active affiliation with the PKK.
The court ordered a new review of the case, but the prison board, citing the same grounds, upheld its decision.
Administrative observation boards, established in Turkish prisons in January 2021, have faced criticism for arbitrarily delaying the parole of political prisoners.
“They postponed his parole just because he shared a ward with PKK members,” Tanrıkulu’s brother, Enver Tanrıkulu, said. “The board’s decisions are full of arbitrary reasons, like refusing to stand for head counts.”
Tanrıkulu was arrested in February 1994 on charges of attempting “to separate part of the territory under the sovereignty of the state from the state administration” and sentenced to life in prison in 1999.
Now entering his 31st year behind bars, Tanrıkulu has been held in several prisons across Turkey and has spent the last three years in Aksaray.
The lawyer’s appeal against the latest decision is still pending.
While Turkish law allows for the early release of convicts who have served a designated portion of their sentences, parole boards were given discretionary powers in granting or refusing this early release.
In the last few years many reports have revealed denial of parole to political prisoners, particularly those imprisoned over Gülen links or pro-Kurdish political engagement, on arbitrary grounds such as “failure to display remorse.” According to the Human Rights Association (İHD), these bodies postponed the release of a total of 384 prisoners between 2021 and 2023
