Corona-amnesty in Turkey

Yesterday, the Turkish parliament passed a law to pave the way for the release of tens of thousands of prisoners – as a means to reduce the danger of a massive coronavirus outbreak in the country's overcrowded and unhygienic prisons. In this regard, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticized that political prisoners imprisoned under the so-called "anti-terrorism laws" are largely excluded from the plans. According to contact persons of the STP, three prisoners died of Covid-19 yesterday alone, and about 70 members of security personnel have tested positive for the virus.

"Erdogan prefers to let criminals run free, rather than political dissidents," criticized Dr. Kamal Sido on behalf of the STP. "Instead of using the amnesty as a signal of reconciliation and solidarity among all ethnic groups, he will rather pardon political allies while those who were arbitrarily detained remain in custody – and, therefore, in acute danger." Thus, the Kurdish ethnic group is disproportionately affected by the country's "anti-terror laws". 

On April 6, the STP and the International Society for Human Rights had already sent an appeal to the Turkish President, the government, and all members of the Grand National Assembly. In it, the human rights organizations and numerous other signatories demanded the release of all political prisoners and prisoners on remand.

Following the attempted coup in July 2016, Erdogan had ordered the arrest of thousands of people who were accused of supporting the Gülen movement, which he blamed for the attempted coup. Since then, there have been ongoing waves of arrests of people who dare to stand up for human and minority rights or to criticize the government.