Thirty-three bar associations have called on the government to release prisoners due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

 

It suggested that the execution of sentences should be suspended or executed at home until the legal arrangements are made on the law on criminal execution.

 

There are more than 270 thousand prisoners in 375 prisons in the country of 80 million, according to mid-2019 figures by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

 

The fact that coronavirus transmits through droplets in the air makes prisons more dangerous for the spread of the disease. Thousands of prisoners have been released to prevent the spread of the virus in Iran and some states in the US.

 

The Ministry of Justice on March 13 suspended prison visits and inmates' meetings with lawyers until the end of April.

 

Inmates' right to meeting with their relatives and attorney is their only way to communicate with the outside, the bar associations noted, saying that restricting this right would not mean that protective and preventive measures are fully implemented.

 

"This is not a measure that suits the purpose," the statement said, adding that although it would partially contribute to the physical health of the prisoners, there was a risk that the prisoners and their relatives might face "psychological destruction."

 

"Moreover, the virus can be transmitted to the prison not only by prisoners' relatives, but also by correction personnel and other security personnel," it further said.

 

The bar associations stressed that the prisons in Turkey have more inmates than their capacity, the prisoners have "very limited access" to cleaning supplies and disinfectants, and there were thousands of ill, older, women and child prisoners. "Urgent and comprehensive measures should be taken and solutions should be developed in order to effectively combat this epidemic and minimize potential life-threatening risks."

 

The statement also noted that pre-trial detention, which was included in the legislation as an "exceptional measure," has become the "basic principle" in recent years. "It is a fact that there are a significant number of politicians, mayors, intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, and students were arrested and still remanded in custody for exercising their freedoms of thought and expression and that some of them are in the fatal risk group of the coronavirus because of age and illness."

 

In the conditions where people being remanded in custody contradicts their rights to life and health, the rights should prevail and the prisoners should be released, the bar associations stated.

 

They suggested that judicial control measures such as house arrest could be implemented to reduce the number of prisoners.

 

They added that the duration of prisoners' phone talks should be increased and the measures should be taken for the protection of correction officers as well.

 

The following bar associations have signed the statement: Adana, Adıyaman, Ağrı, Amasya, Ankara, Artvin, Batman, Bolu, Bursa, Bitlis, Bingöl, Diyarbakır, Düzce, Hakkari, Hatay, Gaziantep, Gümüşhane-Bayburt, İstanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Muş, Ordu, Osmaniye, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak, Tunceli, Tekirdağ, Van, Yalova.