Human rights advocates and lawmakers in Turkey are calling for reforms to end the no-parole policy for life-sentenced prisoners. A new bill introduced on 30 September proposes conditional release after 25 years, aligning with European human rights standards amid ongoing pressure for Turkey to comply with international rulings.
The bill, titled Law Proposal on the Removal of the Parole Ban for Aggravated Life Sentences and Provision of Conditional Release in the 25th Year, was presented by Meral Danış Beştaş of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and is currently under review by Turkey’s Justice and Interior Commissions. The proposal challenges existing laws that prevent parole for prisoners with life sentences for state-related crimes, an approach deemed inhumane and excessively punitive in several European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings.
Metin Bakkalcı, President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), commented, “Human rights cannot be a matter of negotiation”, describing the current policy as “an insult to human dignity”. Lawyer Meral Hanbayat of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD) echoed this view, noting that Turkey’s laws deny even medically unfit prisoners a chance for release.
The ECtHR initially ruled in 2014 that Abdullah Öcalan’s life sentence without parole violated the European Convention’s ban on inhumane treatment. Turkey has not yet enacted legislative changes, prompting human rights groups to appeal to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which set a compliance deadline for September 2025.
Hanbayat further highlighted that Turkey’s extraordinary penal regime imposes severe isolation and restrictions on approximately 4,000 prisoners serving life sentences. She argued that “the lack of a conditional release option contravenes both dignity and international human rights standards.”
In response to Turkey’s inaction, international pressure continues to grow. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which oversees the execution of ECtHR rulings, recently demanded legislative changes to allow conditional release for life-sentenced prisoners. Legal experts, like prominent European human rights lawyer Barbara Spinelli, have criticised the delays, arguing that the refusal to offer parole for life-sentenced prisoners not only violates European standards but undermines human dignity. Spinelli noted that Turkey’s strategic position as a NATO member complicates international responses but stressed that legal obligations must not be compromised due to geopolitical concerns.
