Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has announced that 706 children are currently living with their mothers in Turkish prisons, according to a report by the Gazete Duvar news website on Friday.
Tunç revealed some prison statistics in response to a parliamentary question from human rights advocate and MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu.
Gergerlioğlu, a vocal advocate of the people jailed in political trials in Turkey, called on the Family and Social Services Ministry to address the issue of children behind bars in collaboration with the Justice Ministry, urging them to find alternative solutions since these children are “enduring traumas that will affect them for the rest of their lives.”
The minister also revealed the number of couples who are under arrest, saying that 498 people are currently imprisoned on terrorism-related charges along with their spouses, which, according to rights groups, puts the children of these people under great emotional stress due to separation from both parents.
Gergerlioğlu said the minister’s revelations highlight the family tragedies unfolding in Turkey’s prisons, describing the incarceration of 498 couples as “horrifying.”
“The number of family dramas in prisons is increasing. … Some children suffer emotional breakdowns after every prison visit,” the MP said.
He recalled that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) previously rejected his proposal to have parents serve prison sentences at different times to mitigate the impact on their children.
The lawmaker highlighted the case of the Demirci family, where both parents are serving prison sentences of between six and seven years in Edirne Prison. Their two children, aged 9 and 4, are living with relatives in Ankara. Because of the long distance and financial constraints, the relatives could only visit the parents every three months. After submitting a formal request, the Demirci couple was transferred to a prison in Eskişehir, closer to their children.
The number of children accompanying their mothers in prison skyrocketed in Turkey in the aftermath of a coup attempt in July 2016, when thousands of women were arrested due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement.
The Gülen movement, inspired by the views of Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding the failed coup and labeled as a terrorist organization. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
A report published by the Civil Society in the Penal System (CİSST) in April 2022 also found that children who accompany their mothers in Turkish prisons were deprived of basic necessities.
“Children are cut off from the outside world, and they cannot participate in social and cultural activities,” the report said. “This is detrimental to their physical and mental well-being and will cause problems connecting with society later in life.”
Previous reports have also underlined that Turkish prisons do not accommodate the needs of children and infants. Most prisons do not provide crayons, toys or carpets for crawling babies. Many children do not have their own beds and share their mothers’ food.