Turkish parliament ratified an early parole bill that will reduce inmate population of the country’s overcrowded prisons on April 14. Conceived as a measure against the spread of the Coronovirus pandemic to the overcrowded prisons the bill contains basically early parole and house arrest possibilities for a broad range of offenders, yet excludes sex and drug crimes, first-degree murder, crimes of violence against women as well as crimes related to terrorism.
Accordingly, a broad range of dissidents indicted or convicted under the country’s controversial and broadly interpreted anti-terrorism laws will not benefit from the bill. Tens of thousands of journalists, lawyers, politicians, academics, human right defenders and civil servants were jailed on dubious terrorism charges particularly after a coup bid on July 15, 2016 which elicited criticism from the international community.
The bill, drafted and introduced by the Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its supporter ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) passed just after midnight with 279 votes for and 51 against. According to estimations up to 90,000 inmates will benefit from the bill. The bill has yet to be approved and published in the Official Gazette by the President Erdoğan to take effect.
Under the bill some 75,000 inmates in open prisons will be sent home on parole until 31 May in a move to reduce the risk posed by the Coronavirus outbreak to the prisons. The Minister of Justice can extend that period twice by a maximum of two months on each occasion if the outbreak persists.
With the new measure the length of the term that has to be spent in the prison is reduced from two-thirds to a half of the sentence with the exception of such crimes as “deliberate manslaughter,” “intentional injury,” “injury to a child, elderly and a spouse,” “sexual violence crimes,” “drug production and trade,” “state espionage,” and “Anti-Terrorism Act.”
Violations of the National Intelligence Agency Act was also excluded from the scope of the bill with a new motion given during the deliberations at the plenary of the parliament. Thus, if journalists Barış Terkoğlu, Barış Pehlivan and Murat Ağırel, imprisoned earlier this year for reporting the death of Turkish intelligence members in Libya, are to be sentenced, they will not benefit from this regulation.
The new regulation further provides that pregnant women, women with new-born infants and who have children age 6 and younger and prisoners over 65 with certain health conditions can be released to house arrest or on parole. The bill also allows for the removal from prison of those with communicable diseases.
Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül admitted on 13 April that the virus had reached prisons, with 17 confirmed cases among inmates, including three deaths, and 79 prison personnel infected. He said 79 prison employees had also tested positive, along with a total of 80 judges and prosecutors, judiciary personnel and forensic medicine personnel.
Main opposition CHP to take law to top court
During the deliberations in the parliament the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) have objected to the bill, demanding that the bill include political prisoners as well.
CHP has declared it will appeal to the Constitutional Court against the new bill. CHP deputy parliament group leader Engin Özkoç announced this decision at a press conference on April 13.
HDP Deputy and a prominent human rights defender Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu described the law as ‘discriminatory’ in his speech at the Turkish parliament and criticized the exclusion of thought criminals.
The post Discriminatory amnesty bill ratified by Turkish parliament appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/discriminatory-amnesty-bill-ratified-by-turkish-parliament/
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