Turkish Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül announced on Tuesday that 120 prisoners from four penal institutions have been diagnosed with COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, the T24 news website reported.
“They are all receiving treatment in the hospital,” Gül said. “There are no prisoners in intensive care, and their condition is generally good.”
“Anybody who has a relative in prison should rest assured: All precautions are being taken.”
Gül said new arrivals are quarantined for 14 days. He also said 7 million square meters of prison grounds are regularly disinfected and that cleaning products are supplied free of charge to each prisoner.
While the Turkish government recently enacted an early release law to ease overcrowding in prisons, critics slammed it for discriminating against political prisoners and not addressing those in pre-trial detention.