Path to release for 50,000 people in the 11th Judicial Package! 2 crimes excluded

A regulation that could provide an opportunity for early release to those who committed crimes before July 31, 2023, has been added back to the Parliament's work schedule after a long hiatus. The expansion of the supervised release practice, which was granted to convicts in open prisons during the Covid-19 period, is being added to the 11th Judicial Package upon the joint request of the AKP, MHP, and the Ministry of Justice.

In the work on the new article, the assessment that “There is no data on when the sentences of those who committed crimes before July 31, 2023, will be finalized. Because even if they committed the crime before this date, there are those whose sentences will be finalized perhaps 3 months, perhaps 3 years, or perhaps 10 years later. Therefore, since it will be possible to benefit from this regulation when the sentence is finalized, the number will increase” stands out. If the regulation is implemented, it will pave the way for those whose sentences have not yet been finalized to benefit from supervised release.

WHICH CRIMES ARE EXCLUDED?

According to the report by the pro-government Türkiye Gazetesi, the basic condition to benefit from the regulation is that the crime must have been committed before July 31, 2023. Convicts who meet this condition and are determined to have 5 years or less remaining for supervised release will be able to complete their remaining sentences outside.

However, two crime groups are excluded:

• Organized crimes
• Terror crimes

AKP sources, emphasizing that the practice must comply with the constitutional “principle of equality,” bring up the following example:

“Think of two people; they were tried in the same court. They received the same sentences. But one's sentence was finalized before July 31, 2023, and the other's remained for later. An injustice arises here.”

PATH TO RELEASE FOR 50,000 PEOPLE

It is stated that if the current regulation is enacted, approximately 50,000 people could be released in the first stage, and this number will increase further as legal processes are completed.

THE SIGNAL HAD PREVIOUSLY COME FROM TUNÇ AND THE MHP

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, recalling that this issue has been worked on for a long time, had previously used the following expression: “Those who committed crimes before July 31, 2023, and whose cases have not been concluded also ask, ‘Why can't I benefit?’ For this reason, a regulation can be made in terms of the principle of equality.”

MHP Deputy Chairman Feti Yıldız had similarly stated that those whose files were not finalized were experiencing grievances and had made the statement, “This deficiency must be definitively resolved.”

‘AMNESTY’ DEBATE IN PUBLIC OPINION

Although the AKP and the Ministry of Justice emphasize that the change to be made is not in the nature of an amnesty, the fact that thousands of people will be released from prison has brought the “partial amnesty” debates back to the agenda in public opinion. With the submission of the regulation to Parliament, the debates are expected to flare up even further.