This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Genel Af Çıkacak mı? Af, İnfaz Düzenlemesi ve Aradaki Fark.
An amnesty and a change to the rules on executing sentences are not the same thing, and nothing takes effect until it is passed into law. An amnesty extinguishes the conviction and its consequences; a change to the execution regime leaves the conviction standing and alters only how the sentence is served.
Expectations of an amnesty are never far from the minds of people in prison and their families, and reports that “an amnesty is coming” circulate whenever a judicial reform package is discussed.
This article is not a prediction. Its purpose is to separate two things, and to explain what should be done while waiting.
What Is an Amnesty, and What Types Are There?
A general amnesty discontinues the public prosecution and extinguishes sentences with all their consequences. The judicial record is deleted and the disqualifications attaching to a conviction fall away.
An individual pardon does not extinguish the sentence; it may remove, reduce or convert a prison sentence. The other consequences of the conviction — the judicial record entry, for instance — as a rule remain.
The power to grant an amnesty rests with the Grand National Assembly, and under Article 87 of the Constitution a majority of three fifths of the total number of members is required — a heavier majority than for an ordinary statute.
Article 169 of the Constitution further prohibits any general or individual amnesty for forestry offences. The President's power to commute or remit a sentence individually in cases of chronic illness, disability or old age is a separate institution.
Why Are Amnesty and Execution Changes Confused?
Most of what is publicly called an “amnesty” is in fact a change to the regime for executing sentences. The two are legally very different.
A change to the execution regime does not extinguish the sentence; it alters how it is served. Lowering the proportion required for conditional release, lengthening the probation period, or changing the conditions for transfer to an open prison all fall into this category.
The difference in effect is this: under an execution change the conviction stands, the judicial record is not deleted, and the provisions on recidivism continue to apply. The person may be released earlier, but they remain a convicted person in law.
Offences Left Outside the Scope
Past execution changes have been limited in respect of certain categories of offence. Those most often excluded are:
- intentional homicide
- offences against sexual inviolability
- the manufacture and trafficking of narcotics
- terrorism offences
- offences against the security of the State
- offences committed in the course of the activities of a criminal organisation
The scope of any measure becomes certain only when the text of the statute is published. Planning around lists at the draft stage is misleading.
What Should Be Done Meanwhile?
Failing to use the existing legal routes while waiting for an amnesty is the most common and the most costly mistake. Time limits run while you wait.
- Do not miss appeal deadlines. Once a judgment becomes final, fewer routes remain.
- Have your execution calculation checked. There may be an error in it; a breakdown can be requested from the execution prosecutor's office.
- Follow the conditions for probation and open prison. The law as it stands may already give you a right.
- Know your conditional release date. If the calculation is wrong, it can be challenged.
In short: use the rights the law gives you today. If a new measure is passed and works in your favour, the way to benefit from it can be considered then — but a missed deadline does not come back.
At the date this article was prepared there was no general amnesty in force. An amnesty can be granted only by statute and only with the qualified majority the Constitution requires. Do not let expectation cause you to miss an appeal or objection deadline.