Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, an MP from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), stated that the government’s retreat has created a sense of uncertainty and mistrust among prisoners. He reported that ill and disabled prisoners, who had placed their hopes in the October reform, are now anxiously waiting.

The 10th Judicial Reform Package submitted to parliament by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has drawn criticism from many segments of the public for falling far short of expectations. Most reactions emphasize that the government’s proposal does not align with the spirit of the new political process. While the AKP introduced the reform package as part of what it claims is a broader process of change, the content of the proposal has sparked disappointment. The package’s failure to meet expectations, especially in light of its symbolic weight as a step within the new process, and the AKP’s insistence on moving forward with it despite criticism, have provoked further backlash, particularly from the DEM Party and civil society.

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu visited Gebze Prison one day after the judicial reform package was submitted to parliament, asking both political and non-political prisoners for their opinions on the 10th Judicial Reform Package. He shared his observations from the prison visit with ANF.

Gergerlioğlu explained that he began his meetings in the morning and continued until around 5:00 p.m., noting that prisoners from all backgrounds, whether political or criminal, expressed strong reactions to the last-minute changes made by the government. Describing the deep sense of shock among the inmates, Gergerlioğlu said: “Today I visited Gebze Women's Prison. I listened to prisoners from all walks of life and relayed their concerns to the prison administration. From morning until five in the evening, I held meetings with prisoners from every group, both political and non-political, in order to understand the general situation. Let me say this first: without exception, every group in the prison is in shock, even those who have become accustomed to the state's inconsistency and repeated failure to keep its promises. This time, people truly believed that something would change. They had made preparations, expecting to reunite with their families during the Eid holiday. But yesterday’s news devastated them. I was told some could not sleep all night, some cried. Many prisoners cried in front of me as they spoke.

There are prisoners who have been in jail for 30 years, some with elderly parents, some with mothers they haven’t seen in years. Many were joyfully awaiting the 10th Judicial Reform Package, especially those whose mothers or fathers have not been able to visit for two or three years. These people have now experienced deep disappointment. I saw prisoners whose psychological well-being has been seriously affected. Many were already on psychiatric medication, and I learned that the use of these medications has increased. There are disabled prisoners who have not received proper treatment. There are sick prisoners, but no reliable data exists on their actual number. People are anxious because of this uncertainty. Everyone is waiting for Saturday’s commission discussions and wondering what will happen next.”

Prisoners do not trust the state

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu stated that one reason behind the government’s last-minute reversal may be Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s deeply “allergic” stance toward the Gülen movement. He mentioned that some prisoners had also expressed this view. He added: “Colleagues from the DEM Party have made statements on this issue, and I also suspected the same. Erdoğan is extremely sensitive, allergic, and filled with hatred when it comes to the Gülen group. There were prisoners from that group who would have been released as well. That disturbed him deeply. There is an ongoing process. I spoke with Kurdish prisoners. They told me: ‘How can this process unfold like this? We believed in it. Even though we knew it wouldn’t be a major step, we were willing to accept even a small step. But this sudden reversal is upsetting.’ Some prisoners, and this is a general tendency I observed, believe that the government is using the Gülen group as a pretext to take a firmer stance on the Kurdish issue. There are those who interpret it in this way. In my opinion, the government does want to proceed with the Kurdish process, but due to Erdoğan’s extreme animosity toward the Gülen group, they were even willing to risk triggering such a scandal.”

Gergerlioğlu added that prisoners are now focused on October, yet they believe that the justification used by the government today will still be used then. He said, “This is actually on the minds of all prisoners. They say: ‘Fine, we’ve seen this reversal now, but what will happen in October?’ Believe me, prisoners from every group are saying: ‘You set a process in motion. You made promises. And then, you backtracked using this or that excuse. Are you going to make distinctions between groups? What exactly are you going to do? No one knows what to expect. How can we trust such a process? People are now in a wait-and-see mode for October. There are disabled prisoners, there are severely ill prisoners. People are already counting down the days until October.”

They said the government’s stance is deeply concerning

Gergerlioğlu emphasized that all the prisoners he spoke with, regardless of whether they were political or non-political, reacted strongly to the state’s last-minute reversal. He concluded his remarks as follows: “There is a great deal of anger toward the state. It does not matter whether the prisoner is political or non-political; there is significant criticism directed at both the state and the government. They say this was an extremely crude move, and that no one has the right to shatter people’s hopes, because this issue does not concern only themselves, but also their many relatives. They also point out that prisons are already overcrowded. People say they can no longer move around in their wards. It is so packed that movement has become impossible, especially in the wards housing members of the Gülen group and non-political prisoners, from what I’ve seen. Some prisoners said, ‘I have claustrophobia. Regardless of whether it’s hot or cold, I wait in the exercise yard for hours. I had been waiting for this change, and now I am devastated.’ There are many people in such specific situations.

Prisons are extremely overcrowded, Facilities designed for 200 are now holding over 500. There is still hope for October, but prisoners say: ‘If this process is going to continue, there should be no discrimination. If this mentality persists, we won’t be released in October either.’ Prisoners from every political group expressed these concerns. Kurdish prisoners, in particular, voiced strong criticism: ‘The government should not be so insensitive to our options. There are countless prisoners inside for baseless reasons. The government’s stance, at such a sensitive time and during such important discussions, is deeply worrying,’ they said.”