Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan commuted the sentences of 10 people convicted on various charges ahead of the Eid holiday, including two men convicted in high-profile Hizbullah-related cases, citing chronic illness and disability, the T24 news website reported.
Hizbullah is an extremist Sunni group that emerged in southeastern Turkey in 1985 and was responsible for the murder of Muslim feminist author Konca Kuriş in 1999 and the assassination of Diyarbakır police chief Gaffar Okkan in 2001, among others.
According to a decision published in the Official Gazette early Saturday, Erdoğan approved the early release of Şehmus Alpsoy, who was serving an aggravated life sentence for his role in the 2000 Hizbullah trial. Alpsoy had been convicted of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and was found guilty of driving a truck used to transport the bodies of victims killed by the radical Islamist group.
The sentence was commuted on the grounds of “permanent illness and disability,” based on medical assessments.
Also released was Hamit Çöklü, who was arrested in 1998 and sentenced to life in 2008 for his involvement in Hizbullah activities. His sentence was commuted due to a chronic medical condition.
Among others granted clemency was Hulki Nas, a prisoner suffering from heart failure. Nas had been incarcerated since 2016.
This marks the latest in a series of sentence commutations granted by Erdoğan under Article 104 of the Turkish Constitution, which allows the president to commute sentences in cases of chronic illness, disability or old age. The authority does not constitute a legal pardon and does not nullify the conviction.
In 2023 Erdoğan similarly commuted the sentence of Mehmet Emin Alpsoy, also a Hizbullah convict and the father of Şehmus Alpsoy. Mehmet Emin Alpsoy had been convicted of torturing and killing three people and was known as a key figure in Hizbullah’s “military wing.”
The Alpsoy family has been deeply linked to the Hizbullah case. Court documents revealed that Mehmet Emin Alpsoy admitted to membership in the group between 1990 and 1996 and claimed to have recruited his son A. Alpsoy, a medical doctor, for purposes of “prestige.” His other son, Şehmus, was found guilty of transporting the bodies of Hizbullah victims.
Mehmet Emin Alpsoy’s elder son later expressed regret during trial proceedings, stating that he was ashamed to be tried as a member of such a group.
The commutations sparked immediate political backlash, particularly due to the inclusion of the Hizbullah members. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) parliamentary group leader Murat Emir criticized the timing and nature of the decision, writing, “A holiday gift from Erdoğan to Hizbullah. While young people are jailed for protesting, two Hizbullah convicts sentenced to life will walk free.”
CHP lawmaker Ali Mahir Başarır accused Erdoğan of double standards, saying, “You imprison youth for exercising their rights but release Hizbullah convicts. This is not justice.”
Nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party MP Turhan Çömez, a physician, called on the government to disclose the medical reports used to justify the commutations, questioning whether the decisions were politically motivated.
CHP MP Orhan Sarıbal accused the government of rewarding the perpetrators of crimes against humanity while keeping political prisoners behind bars. “This is not an ordinary miscarriage of justice — it is a conscious choice and a political alliance,” he said.
Controversy over inclusion of cancer patient Gülden Aşık
One of the 10 individuals whose sentences were commuted by Erdoğan was Gülden Aşık, a mother of three who had already been released on parole on February 19 after serving her minimum term. Her inclusion in the list of commutations drew criticism from journalists and human rights advocates, who called it a symbolic gesture rather than meaningful clemency. Aşık was convicted of alleged membership in the Gülen movement.
Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since corruption investigations revealed in December 2013 implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan as well as some members of his family and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and a conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Aşık, sentenced to more than six years in prison for alleged links to the Gülen movement, suffered from thyroid cancer and endured severe mistreatment during her incarceration. She experienced a miscarriage while pregnant in prison and was reportedly denied release for over three years despite multiple medical reports stating she was unfit to remain behind bars.
Human rights groups and opposition lawmakers repeatedly raised concerns over her deteriorating health and mental well-being.
Journalist Sevinç Özarslan reacted strongly on social media, writing, “She completed her sentence and was released — what kind of ‘clemency’ is this? You made her suffer for years. She lost her baby in prison, had cancer, and now you list her as if it’s some humanitarian gesture?”
Aşık’s case has become emblematic of broader concerns about the Turkish government’s treatment of critically ill prisoners, particularly women arrested on Gülen-related charges as part of a government crackdown following the 2016 coup attempt. Rights advocates say that many such prisoners remain incarcerated in violation of legal and medical standards.
Erdoğan’s use of executive clemency has come under increased scrutiny from rights groups who say the power is being applied selectively and politically, particularly while hundreds of seriously ill political prisoners remain incarcerated.