Video PlayerClose

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government is working on a bill that would release tens of thousands of inmates from prisons amid fears that the COVID-19 pandemic will carve a deadly path through cramped penitentiaries among prisoners and staff.

A first version of the draft which caused outrage reportedly included the release of sex offenders, domestic abusers and drug related prisoners.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "has categorically ruled out such a measure" during a cabinet meeting, pro-government daily Sabah reported.

Women's rights organizations immediately condemned the first plan by expressing alarm at the proposal, saying it would place women and children at risk and asking for an "egalitarian" amnesty for all prisoners.

Their insistent calls seem to have been heard by Erdogan's ruling conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), which submitted to the parliament the proposal which would see the freedom of about a third of Turkey's 300,000 prisoners.

There are also around 150,000 prison employees who are also at risk of being infected.

The bill should be voted in fewer than two weeks, as the AKP and its nationalist ally MHP don't have the needed majority of 360 seats to vote for an amnesty, a parliamentary source told Xinhua.

Under the suggested plan, some inmates would expect reduced sentences and others more than half of their jail terms.

According to official statements, no diagnosed cases have been reported in prisons for now.

Turkey has so far reported 10,827 COVID-19 cases and 168 deaths, with 39 settlements across the country put under quarantine.

Turkey, where the rate of infections has outstripped many other countries in the last 10 days, has cancelled all its international flights, halted all intercity trains and restricted travels unless with a doctor's note.

Human rights organizations have welcomed the government's plan to substitute prison time with alternatives such as early parole and house arrest.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul met last week with representatives of main opposition parties to find a consensus to determine the scope of those who would be released.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu also suggested that doctors or other health personnel currently incarcerated should also be freed to help with anti-coronavirus measures.

"We are considering several options and all are being discussed and you will soon see," a source close to the government told Xinhua.