ANKARA (AFP): The Turkish parliament today (Tuesday) passed a law that allows tens of thousands of prisoners to be released as a safety measure against the coronavirus pandemic.
Deputy parliament speaker Sureyya Sadi Bilgic informed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party and nationalist MHP allies supported the bill, which was passed with 279 votes for and 51 votes against.
The law will open the way for the temporary release of about 45,000 prisoners to halt the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
According to the law, those eligible would be released under judicial control until the end of May and the Justice Ministry will be able to extend the period twice by a maximum of two months each time.
The law affects several types of prisoners, including pregnant women and older people with medical conditions, but it excludes murderers, sexual offenders, and narcotics criminals.
However, detainees charged under controversial anti-terrorism laws are also not included in the law. The detainees include journalists and politicians swept up in a crackdown following a coup attempt in 2016.
In this regard, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have criticised the law for the exclusion of other inmates including journalists, politicians, and lawyers in pre-trial detention.
Earlier on Monday, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul informed that there were 17 confirmed cases of coronavirus among prisoners, including three deaths. So far, coronavirus has claimed lives of almost 1,300 people across Turkey and has affected more than 61,000.
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