Podcast120 inmates in Turkey being treated for COVID-19
Turkey's Justice Minister Gül has said that 120 inmates in four different prisons have so far tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Gül said that none of the 120 inmates are in intensive care units and they are all in good health.
Duvar English
Some 120 inmates in four different prisons in Turkey have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and are receiving treatment in prison hospitals, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said on April 28.
Gül added that none of the 120 inmates, which include both convicted prisoners and those behind bars awaiting trial, are in intensive care and that they were all in good health.
Visits to prisons in Turkey have been closed since March due to fear of the coronavirus spread.
Turkey’s parliament recently passed a law allowing the release of tens of thousands of prisoners to ease overcrowding in jails, but those notably exempt from this opportunity are journalists, politicians, and and other high-profile political prisoners, many of whom are behind bars on terror charges.
Gül said that 95 percent of courtroom activity in Turkey had been curbed, and that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had ordered the halting of judicial matters until June 15 due to the epidemic.