The number of people held in Turkish prisons rose by over 14,000 in three months, pushing the total inmate population nearly 100,000 over official capacity, the Velev news website reported, citing official data.
According to March data from the Ministry of Justice, Turkey’s 395 prisons are housing 398,694 inmates, surpassing their official combined capacity of 299,940 by 98,754 people, representing a 133.9 percent occupancy rate.
The prison population increased by 14,478 between January and March 2025, despite the closure of 10 facilities during the same period. On January 1, there were 384,216 inmates across 405 prisons. By February, the figure had risen to 392,456.
The current total reflects ongoing arrests over protests against the jailing of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival, as well as a an ongoing crackdown on the faith-based Gülen movement, inspired by the late Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, and people associated with the Kurdish political struggle for recognition.
Over the last decade Gülen and his movement, which in the past had been praised by the Turkish government for their activities in education and inter-religious and intercultural dialogue, have faced various accusations from the government, including masterminding corruption investigations in 2013 and a coup attempt in 2016.
Gülen, who had been living in the United States since 1999, passed away at a hospital in Pennsylvania on October 20 at the age of 83.
The Turkish government labeled Gülen and his movement as “terrorists” in May 2016.
Gülen and his followers have strongly denied any involvement in the coup or any terrorist activity but have been the subject of a harsh crackdown for a decade.
Brussels-based lawyer Ali Yıldız said the sharp increase in Turkey’s prison population reflects a broader pattern of repression targeting civil society and dissenting voices. He identified the government’s continued use of arbitrary detentions to suppress dissent as a key driver of overcapacity, calling the overcrowded prison system “a direct testimony to the government’s repressive policies.”
The long-term growth trend in Turkey’s incarcerated population continues. In 2000, there were 49,512 inmates. By 2020, that number had grown to 266,831, reaching 341,497 in 2022 and 398,694 in 2025 — an eightfold increase over 25 years.
The 2025 budget allocates 18.5 billion Turkish lira for prison expenses, a 30 percent increase from 14.2 billion lira in 2024. The Ministry of Justice employs 63,214 staff in the prison system.
To address overcrowding, the government plans to build 11 new prisons by 2027, with an expected total cost of 23.5 billion lira. The 2025 budget includes 1.2 billion lira for this construction.