26.05.2026 16:41
AK Party Group Chairman Abdullah Güler put an end to the "amnesty" debates. In response to a question about whether there would be any work regarding amnesty within the penal execution system, Güler said, "There could be early release under conditional release conditions. There will never be an amnesty. We have no intention of amnesty whatsoever."
AK Party Group Chairman Abdullah Güler, who met with press members in Sivas, answered questions about the agenda. In response to a question about whether there would be any work regarding 'amnesty' within the penal execution system, Güler gave a sharp answer, stating that they absolutely have no thought of amnesty.
"AMNESTY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT ELIMINATES THE SUFFERED VICTIMIZATION"
Güler stated that amnesty would not eliminate victimization and said, "In societies like ours, the main issue beyond amnesty, when evaluated in terms of action and crime, is whether a deterrent and sufficient penalty is given. The perception of impunity actually needs to be discussed. Because we know that if a person is killed unjustly, we assume, according to our faith, that all of humanity is killed. We consider unjust killing as an act against all humanity. The way to protect society, protect the individual, and protect the family is, when any action occurs, to have it fairly tried and to impose the deserved punishment in terms of legitimacy and public conscience. There can be no amnesty; what we call amnesty is not something that eliminates the suffered victimization," he said.
"THE RAHSAN AMNESTY WAS SEEN TO BE INEFFECTIVE"
Güler, stating that the Rahşan amnesty of 1999 proved ineffective, said, "When we look not only at our country but also at developed Western societies, we see that the amnesties carried out have not provided any benefit and that crimes have increased. Most recently in Turkey, although not technically, there is an implementation regulation issued in 1999 during the era of the late Rahşan Ecevit and Bülent Ecevit. We saw that 67 percent of the individuals released under that regulation returned within 3 years. So amnesty did not work. In terms of procedure, it met society's expectations at that time but was completely ineffective in producing social outcomes," he stated.
"WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE NO THOUGHT OF AMNESTY"
Güler emphasized that individuals deemed unlikely to reoffend could be released early and said the following: "We should not focus on amnesty, but rather, along with people's remorse, if they have health issues, treat them, provide psychological support, form an opinion that they will not commit crimes again, and improve the conditions for conditional release. We need to work on that. We need to do such work that a person who has committed a crime only once in their life realizes their mistake later. They have repented, and if it is determined with the support given that they will not commit a crime again, that person could be released early under supervision and with conditional release conditions. There will never be amnesty. We absolutely have no thought of amnesty. We value efforts to make the execution law simpler, fairer, more egalitarian, and to support all types of convictions without discrimination."