New 'Right to Hope' statement from MHP's Feti Yıldız: A different expression of conditional release

Stating that the 'Right to Hope' is another way of expressing the 'possibility of conditional release,' Yıldız said, "Our legislation includes the concept of conditional release; the term 'right to hope' is not used."

Yıldız also stated that those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for terror-related crimes cannot benefit from conditional release.

Stating that the 'Right to Hope' is another way of expressing the 'possibility of conditional release,' Yıldız said, "The right to hope is not an independent right, but another way of expressing the possibility of conditional release. There is no separate legal institution called the 'right to hope' that is different from conditional release. Our legislation includes the concept of conditional release; the term 'right to hope' is not used."

"Those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment as terror offenders cannot benefit from conditional release"

Yıldız continued as follows:

"The characterization of the 'right to hope,' based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, is also used in the sense of conditional release. It does not provide for direct release, nor is it an amnesty.

For conditional release to be realized as a right:

1- The convict must serve the minimum sentence specified by law and maintain good behavior during this period.

2- Proceedings are carried out according to the report to be prepared by the Administration and Observation Boards and the decision of the Execution Judgeship. When it is determined by the decision of the execution judge that these two conditions have been met together, the convict benefits from conditional release. According to the current Law on the Execution of Sentences, all convicts, except for those excluded from the scope, have the possibility of conditional release regardless of the type of crime and sentence.

3- Those who receive an aggravated life sentence for organized crimes committed against the security of the state, the constitutional order, and national defense, terror offenders whose past death sentences were converted into life imprisonment or aggravated life imprisonment, and those who receive an aggravated life sentence as terror offenders cannot benefit from conditional release. They are outside the scope. For this to change, the regulations in the Law on the Execution of Sentences and the Anti-Terror Law that prohibit conditional release would need to be repealed."