A man who was recently released from prison as part of an amnesty law passed by the Turkish parliament to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country’s overcrowded penal facilities has killed a friend in the western province of İzmir, according to Turkish media reports.
The man, identified as Mehmet İ., is one of the tens of thousands of prisoners released from prison last week after benefiting from the controversial amnesty law, which was criticized for excluding political prisoners.
The incident took place in the Torbalı district of İzmir on Saturday, where Mehmet İ. bashed Ümit Arıç in the head with a rock during a quarrel that erupted for an unknown reason.
Mehmet İ. was detained by gendarmes following the incident.
The amnesty law has been criticized by opposition parties for excluding people jailed on “terrorism” charges, which include journalists and politicians swept up in a crackdown following a coup attempt in 2016.