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An omnibus bill set to be presented to the Turkish Parliament on Thursday will pave the way for the early release of tens of thousands of inmates.
The move, proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), aims to expand the scope of early release regulations introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laws enacted amid the pandemic enabled inmates with five years or less left in their sentence to be released on parole, and it only covered crimes committed before July 31, 2023. The purpose was to ease overcrowding in prisons, especially at a time when the pandemic claimed lives among people living in confined spaces.
Under the new proposal, inmates who had trials ongoing at the time of the earlier law will also benefit from release with judicial control. AK Party advocates that the bill is necessary to prevent the violation of equality enshrined in the Turkish Constitution.
Inmates convicted of terrorism-related crimes and crimes related to organized crime will be exempt from the early release scheme.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Ankara on Thursday, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç underlined that the new bill was not “an amnesty.”
“This is merely in response to public appeal for ending an instance of inequality,” he said.
Tunç said such omnibus bills have been common and that they had 264 goals in their reform strategy to improve the judiciary. He noted it was up to Parliament to approve the bills. Tunç said that the proposed bill also aimed to address the issues complained about and introduced significant regulations to prevent juvenile delinquency.
“The Minguzzi murder demonstrated that we needed a comprehensive plan to prevent children from being driven into a life of crime. The new bill will also include measures against the recruitment of children by criminal gangs,” he said.
Fourteen-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi was stabbed to death by two 15-year-olds in Istanbul last January in a murder captured on camera. The incident put a spotlight on minors committing crimes, and the boy’s family has campaigned for heavier sentences for such crimes. Last month, an Istanbul court sentenced the two offenders to 24 years in prison.
