Some inmates to get better conditions after overpopulation in Turkish jails due to Gülen case arrests

Overpopulation in Turkish prisons in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, which is widely believed to have been orchestrated by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), has led the Turkish Justice Ministry to introduce new regulations that would better prison conditions for inmates serving less than 10 years in prison.

According to the new regulations, inmates with total prison terms below 10 years will remain in closed prisons for one month and will later be transferred to open prisons.

After the number of people arrested over their links to the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen reached some 42,000 and the total number of inmates in Turkey rose to above 197,297, the ministry has decided to introduce new regulations to transfer inmates to open prisons in order to open space in closed prisons.

The new regulations will enable inmates with lesser sentences to serve in stricter conditions in closed prisons for one month, but would later be transferred to more spacious open prisons, the Official Gazette stated on Feb. 23.

Inmates with sentences over 10 years will serve one tenth of their terms in a closed prison and later be sent to an open one.

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