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A new sentencing reform, prepared by the Ministry of Justice and the ruling Justice and Development party (AK Party), is expected to be submitted to the Turkish Parliament this week and passed into law before the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday. The regulation will allow approximately 50,000 inmates with less than three years remaining on their sentences to be released under probation.
Prison observation boards will assess inmates’ conduct to determine eligibility for early release. Those who have not demonstrated good behavior will not qualify. Repeat offenders will also benefit from sentence reductions, addressing what officials describe as an existing imbalance in the penal system.
Officials stress that the process will not be automatic. “No one will be released just because they have three years left. The observation boards will carefully evaluate each inmate’s behavior. Those who have shown remorse, acquired vocational skills, or participated in social programs may qualify for early release,” an AK Party source said.
Under the reform, individuals who committed eligible offenses before July 31, 2023, may be transferred from closed to open prisons up to three years early, allowing them to complete their sentences outside prison. Those already in open prisons will be released directly.
The package also includes special sentencing conditions for vulnerable inmates, such as pregnant women, mothers with children, the elderly, disabled individuals, and seriously ill prisoners. Pregnant women and mothers of young children will be allowed to serve the final five years of their sentence under house arrest.
Elderly or ill inmates, or those unable to care for themselves in prison, may be permitted to serve the last eight to 10 years of their sentences outside prison, subject to reports from forensic medicine and prison boards.
The Constitutional Court previously annulled a law punishing individuals who committed crimes “on behalf of a terrorist organization” without being formal members, citing its overly broad interpretation. With the six-month deadline for re-legislation approaching in June, AK Party sources suggest that no new legal definition may be introduced.
“We revised the law twice, and both times it was annulled. We may decide not to draft a new regulation,” one official stated. These individuals may instead be prosecuted under existing laws for aiding or abetting a terrorist group.
Currently, individuals who repeatedly commit minor offenses must serve their full sentence, even if they exhibit good behavior. The reform aims to address this disparity. Under the new proposal, inmates convicted of repeat offenses will be eligible for conditional release after completing three-quarters of their sentence.
This applies to crimes considered minor, such as simple assault, insults, and threats. Officials believe that offering the possibility of early release will encourage better behavior among these inmates and reduce disruptive incidents in prisons.
To address the public perception of impunity, the new law introduces actual jail time for individuals sentenced to less than two years, who currently may avoid incarceration. Under the reform, even those receiving short sentences will serve at least five to seven days in prison.
AK Party officials said the goal is to “eliminate the perception that short-term crimes go unpunished.”
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