Close to 20,000 inmates have started to be released by Turkish authorities at midnight after the approval in Parliament on Wednesday and the official publication of a new law on the enforcement of criminal sentences, reports Efe. As reported on Thursday by the newspaper 'Cumhuriyet', the releases, totaling 19,800, began shortly after the legal text came into effect.
The measure has been enthusiastically welcomed by the beneficiaries and their families, who considered it an early "gift" for the celebration of 'Eid al-Adha', the Muslim festival of sacrifice, which starts this Friday in Turkey.
One of the released individuals, Ümit Aytekin, stated in front of Sincan Prison in Ankara that he was released two years before completing his sentence, as reported by the newspaper.
Although he celebrated his release, he lamented that the law did not benefit a larger number of inmates and denounced the overcrowded conditions in his cell, where 65 people lived in a space designed for 21.
The new legislation provides for the early release of elderly or seriously ill individuals, but has been criticized by the left-wing pro-Kurdish party DEM for excluding those convicted of terrorism-related crimes, a category that includes many opponents and activists.
According to the Criminal Law professor Adem Sözüer from Istanbul Bilgi University, the reform is more symbolic than structural.
In statements to local media, he pointed out that Turkish prisons currently hold around 400,000 people, so in his opinion, the measure "does not solve any real problems."