Dated 27/11/2025, the Bill Amending the Turkish Criminal Code and Certain Other Laws (“Bill”) proposes amendments to Provisional Article 10 of Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures.
The explanatory memorandum states that removing the requirement to have been in a penal institution as of 31/07/2023 is intended to allow persons convicted of offences committed on or before that date earlier transfer to open custody and/or probation supervision.
Only Provisional Article 10 of Law No. 5275 is proposed to be amended. Its previous and proposed versions are set out below:
| Previous Version | Proposed Version |
|---|---|
Provisional Article 10 (…) (6) Except for offences defined in Book Two, Part Four, Chapters Four, Five, Six and Seven of the Turkish Criminal Code, offences falling within the Anti-Terror Law and offences committed in the course of an organisation’s activities, convicted persons who were in closed penal institutions as of 31/7/2023 may transfer to an open penal institution once the following conditions are met: they have served one month in closed custody if their total prison sentence is less than ten years, or three months if it is ten years or more, and have three years or less remaining until eligibility for open custody under the applicable legislation. These persons, together with convicted persons who were in open penal institutions on 31/7/2023 under paragraph six of Provisional Article 9, may, on request and after at least three months in open custody, benefit from execution of their sentences under probation supervision three years earlier than under the applicable legislation. (7) Paragraph six also applies to convicted persons whose prison sentences, as of 31/7/2023, (a) had been postponed under Articles 16, 16/A or 17, or (b) had been suspended. (8) Paragraph six does not apply to sentences being served in full as of 31/7/2023 following revocation of conditional release (…) [77]. It does apply to those persons’ other prison sentences that were final but had not been executed as of 31/7/2023. | Provisional Article 10 (…) (6) Except for offences defined in Book Two, Part Four, Chapters Four, Five, Six and Seven of the Turkish Criminal Code, offences under the Anti-Terror Law and offences committed in the course of an organisation’s activities, convicted persons in closed penal institutions for offences committed on or before 31/7/2023 may transfer to an open penal institution once the following conditions are met: they have served one month in closed custody if their total prison sentence is less than ten years, or three months if it is ten years or more, and have three years or less remaining until eligibility for open custody under the applicable legislation. These persons, together with convicted persons in open penal institutions for offences committed on or before 31/7/2023, may, on request and after at least three months in open custody, benefit from execution of their sentences under probation supervision three years earlier than under the applicable legislation. |
If enacted, the Bill would permit transfer to open custody or probation supervision three years earlier for offences committed on or before 31/07/2023, without requiring custody on that date. The scope remains unchanged: offences under Book Two, Part Four, Chapters Four to Seven of the Turkish Criminal Code, the Anti-Terror Law and offences committed in the course of an organisation’s activities remain excluded from early transfer to open custody.
The aim is to ensure fairness in execution by preventing delays beyond the convicted person’s control, such as prolonged investigations or trials for offences committed at the same time, from causing disadvantage, and to allow open custody or supervision three years earlier.
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