The Turkish government is planning to release tens of thousands of convicted criminals out on the streets in an apparent move to free up some jail space for coup detainees in its bursting prison system, which was in dire condition as it is.
Advertisement
“This measure is not an amnesty”, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag posted Wednesday on Twitter.
A total of 40,029 people have been detained in Turkey on suspicion of involvement in last month’s failed coup, prime minister Binali Yildirim has announced. Excluded are those convicted of terrorism, murder, sexual assault and other violent crimes, officials said.
The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen’s supporters in the aftermath of the coup.
Another order issued the same day dismissed some 2,000 police officers, hundreds of soldiers and workers at the country’s main telecommunications surveillance facility, Peter reports. He also said 4262 companies and institutions with links to Gulen have been shut.
Turkey is seeking Gulen’s extradition from the United States.
The conditional release will only apply to inmates who have two years or less to serve of their prison terms.
Erdogan has accused 75-year-old Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of being behind the attempt by rogue Turkish troops to overthrow his government.
The crackdown has raised concerns by the European Union and human rights organisations, who have urged the Turkish government to show restraint. “The prisons have reached a point where they could not be inhabited anymore”, said Sezgin Tanrikulu, Istanbul deputy for the opposition Republican People’s Party.
US Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Ankara next week, the White House announced, in the highest ranking visit to Turkey by any Western official since the coup.
To be eligible for the scheme, prisoners must have served half of their sentences.
Advertisement
Bozdag insisted yesterday that those being released would still be supervised.
