President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a statement following the ratification of the new reform bill on the execution of sentences at the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT).
President Erdoğan stated that when they took responsibility for governing the country almost 18 years ago, they pledged to carry Turkey up on 4 pillars, namely education, health, justice and security.
In the meantime, Erdoğan said, they took Turkey much further in these four fields and their impetus also enabled significant advances in democracy, economy and infrastructure. "I express my gratitude to each and every member of our nation who stood by us in every battle we have waged.” Erdoğan added.
Erdoğan emphasized the special place that justice retained among these, and continued as follows:
"Throughout history, justice was always at the center of the great springs of mankind while persecution was always behind the great destructions. Our civilization is fundamentally a civilization of justice. Underlying the forms of government that shape today’s world is the principle of the separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers.
In this context, Turkey has made the greatest reforms in the last 18 years. Together we established a brand new Turkey that meets the needs of today and embraces the future in every field, from the constitution to the legislation, from our system of government to the municipalities. Finally, I consider our Judicial Reform Strategy, which we laid before our nation last year, as one of the most important pillars of this process.”
“In a place where there is no criminal justice, the pain felt in consciences cannot be eliminated”
Stating that the new reform bill on execution of sentences ratified by GNAT last night was one of the issues promised under the Judicial Reform Strategy, President Erdoğan said:
“In a place where there is no criminal justice, the pain felt in consciences cannot be eliminated. In the latest reform bill on execution of sentences that we introduced to the Parliament after a long time of planning, we tried to make the operation of the system more equitable for both the victims and criminals.
This reform bill, which was proposed with the joint initiative of the AK Party and MHP parliamentary groups at GNAT and was ratified at the General Assembly after a long period of work, brings significant developments. When it is submitted to us for approval, we will quickly complete the review of this law, ratified at GNAT, and publish it in the Official Gazette. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to each stage from the drafting of this legislation to its enactment, in particular to our Ministry of Justice and our political party groups.”
“We know that we have a lot more to do in the pursuit of justice”
President Erdoğan said that the new reform bill on execution of sentences was prepared by taking into account the sensitivities of the nation and public conscience as well as the challenges in practice, and within this framework, it paved the way for specialization to enhance the effectiveness of the offices of execution judges.
Recognizing that the objective is to prevent the same people from committing crimes again by focusing on correctional measures, Erdoğan continued as follows:
“Steps have been taken to solve the problems about the management and operation of penitentiary institutions. In the stages of execution of sentence and probation, a humanitarian approach has been adopted in favour of groups such as children, the elderly, the sick, and women who have just given birth. Certainly, it is not possible to achieve all of our objectives regarding the justice of execution, with this reform alone.
We know that we have a lot more to do in the pursuit of justice, a never-ending ideal of mankind. In light of this understanding, we have already started a comprehensive study that will completely readdress the crime and sanction balance in our penal code. This will be one of our first works in Parliament in the upcoming legislative term. "
“All measures are taken to protect prisoners and convicts from the threat of pandemic”
President Erdoğan pointed out, however, that it was a fact that the new execution of sentences bill would meet the higher expectations of the nation regarding the manifestation of justice in Turkey.
Erdoğan noted the following in his speech:
“The improvements in this bill and new methods of execution which are in favour of convicts are introduced to prevent the unease of consciences during the manifestation of justice. In order to make a realistic evaluation of the path covered concerning the rehabilitation of the convicts; ‘good conduct’ assessments are excluded from being automatic and scheduled for a certain period. Many convicts will be released from prisons in line with the amendments to the execution periods following the promulgation of the law. I believe that these citizens will not disappoint the state and society.”
Noting that all measures were taken to protect prisoners and convicts in prisons from the threat of the pandemic, Erdoğan said: “Every measure is taken from cleaning up to quarantine in order to avoid these people, whose rights, lives and health are entrusted to the state, from getting infected with the pandemic disease.”
President Erdoğan once again wished that the new reform bill on execution of sentences would be beneficial, and added: "I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of myself and my nation especially to Chairman Mr. Bahçeli, who is a party to the People’s Alliance.”