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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has instructed his aides to clearly explain to the public that there will be no individual-specific legal arrangement regarding the "hope right" provision, amid misleading perceptions that the terrorist organization PKK ringleader Abdullah Ocalan could gain freedom through such a mechanism, according to a report by the Türkiye daily.
"There will be no such thing. We must be very careful about this. We need to explain this very well to citizens. There will be no individual-specific arrangement," Erdogan reportedly said during meetings with his staff.
The directive comes after the Turkish Parliament's report on "Terror-Free Türkiye" brought attention to the legal status of terrorist organization members who lay down their weapons.
Türkiye's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) sources said the "hope right" concept is being widely misunderstood by the public.
"This is a very sensitive matter. We will see the threshold that MIT will determine. The President's instruction is to 'handle this matter seriously.' The hope right is also being misunderstood. It is not amnesty, not sentence reduction, not release," the sources said.
"In the field, when hope right is mentioned, it is perceived as if amnesty will be brought for Ocalan. Such a thing will not happen," the sources added.
The sources explained that under any potential arrangement, those who serve half their sentence in prison could be allowed to serve the remainder outside if they meet all conditions, but observation board reports and enforcement judge decisions would be determinative.
"Those with the potential to commit crimes outside will continue to remain in prison," the sources said.
According to information from AK Party sources cited by Türkiye daily, President Erdogan will first establish a "monitoring mechanism" as the process enters a new phase.
The mechanism will track the evacuation of approximately 30 caves of various sizes along the route from Türkiye's border to Qandil, where the terrorist organization is based.
"Security sources reported that seven of the 30 caves have been evacuated and cleared to date. The president will receive frequent updates on the field situation," the report noted.
If developments indicate the organization has laid down its weapons, a framework law regarding the process will be enacted, the report said.
AK Party legal experts said the standalone and temporary framework law will include "purpose and scope" articles as well as provisions describing the monitoring and verification mechanism, along with regulations concerning organization members who have not been involved in crimes.
The framework law will also include a time limit for how long it will remain in force.
After it is determined that the organization has completely disarmed and its legal existence has ended, changes to the Execution Law, Turkish Penal Code, and Anti-Terror Law will come onto the agenda.
"Conditional release periods in the execution regime will be opened for discussion at this stage," the report noted.
AK Party officials said they want an egalitarian execution system, with half-time execution periods being considered for crime types other than those that cause public outrage.
Sources emphasized that the arrangements will not constitute sentence reduction or amnesty. For PKK ringleader Ocalan and others in similar situations to benefit from conditional release provisions, Article 107, Paragraph 16 of the Criminal Execution Law would need to be repealed.
This provision currently prevents certain categories of prisoners from benefiting from conditional release regardless of time served, the report said.
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