03.06.2025 12:01
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç stated, "As the Ministry of Justice, we will enable inmates and detainees in closed penal institutions to have open visits with their relatives who have the right to visit them during the Eid al-Adha."
The Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, made a statement regarding the opinions of detainees and convicts on his social media account. Tunç stated that detainees will be given the opportunity for open visits during the Eid al-Adha.
Tunç said, "As the Ministry of Justice, we will enable convicts and detainees in closed penal institutions to conduct their visits with their relatives who have the right to visit them as open visits during the Eid al-Adha."
HERE ARE THE DETAILS SHARED BY THE MINISTRY REGARDING OPEN VISITS
The Ministry of Justice provided the following details regarding the open visit during Eid al-Adha:
"As is known, according to Article 15 of the Second Section titled 'Open Visits on Holidays and Special Days' of the Regulation on the Rights of Visits of Convicts and Detainees, open visit permission is granted in closed penal institutions.
In order to facilitate the planning of both convicts and detainees, as well as our institution's personnel, and to minimize the loss of rights, it has been deemed appropriate to announce the holidays and special days on which open visit permission will be granted, as well as the visiting days in advance.
In this context;
In the year 2025, open visits will be conducted within the framework of the following principles and on the days specified in the attached list due to Eid al-Adha.
A- THOSE WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM OPEN VISITS
1- Open visits will be conducted for convicts and detainees in closed penal institutions within the framework of the principles in this general letter and within the periods specified below.
B- THOSE WHO WILL NOT BENEFIT FROM OPEN VISITS
Convicts and detainees who have been definitively sentenced to disciplinary punishment of deprivation of visitor acceptance and placement in a cell will not benefit from open visits.
C- OPEN VISIT PERIODS
Open visits will be conducted on the dates specified below, with each convict benefiting once;
1- For all convicts and detainees in closed penal institutions, due to Eid al-Adha;
a-) For convicts and detainees in penal institutions specified in Annex 1, on the dates indicated in the list,
b-) For convicts and detainees in all other heavy penal centers and affiliated penal institutions with directorate organizations, on the dates specified in Annex 2,
c-) For convicts and detainees in affiliated penal institutions without directorate organizations, open visits will also be conducted on the dates specified in Annex 3.
2- Open visits will be conducted in newly opened penal institutions according to the list in Annex 2; if the visiting days are insufficient, a request will be made to the General Directorate.
By evaluating their numbers and locations, separate groups will be formed for convicts and detainees convicted of judicial crimes and those convicted of organized crimes, and the visiting days and hours for each group will be determined by the public prosecutors' offices and the institution administrations.
It will be ensured that these groups are not kept together at the same time and in the same visiting place.
D- OTHER PROVISIONS
1- Convicts and detainees can have open visits with the persons specified in the first and second paragraphs of Article 9 of the mentioned Regulation. However, those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment will be allowed to meet with their mother, father, spouse, child, grandchild, grandmother, grandfather, and siblings within the scope of this article. Persons wishing to visit convicts and detainees must prove their kinship status with official documents issued by population administrations or relevant consulates.
2- The number of convicts and detainees will be divided by the number of open visit days given, and groups will be formed until the visiting day. The visiting day and hours for each group will be notified to the convicts and detainees to inform their families; the prepared program will also be posted in the wards and in suitable places where visitors can see it, ensuring that each visitor comes to the penal institution on the visiting day to prevent overcrowding.
3- After the open visit of each group is completed, the convicts and detainees present at the visiting place will be carefully searched under the supervision of the officers and taken to their wards and rooms, where they will be counted; after their identities are checked with photo ID documents and it is confirmed that the group is complete, visitors will be allowed to exit the institution.
4- To prevent overcrowding, escapes, and disturbances, and to maintain discipline and order, the public prosecutor's office and the institution management will take all necessary precautions in cooperation with law enforcement agencies; a sufficient number of external security personnel will be present as observers at the visiting place.
5- Open visits will be conducted outside the rooms and annexes of the penal institution, in a special section designated for this purpose, or, if not available, at a location deemed appropriate by the director of the penal institution.
6- Open visits for adult and young convicts, convicts, and detainees will be conducted for no less than half an hour and no more than one and a half hours, while for child convicts, convicts, and detainees, they will be conducted for no less than one hour and no more than three hours, between 09:00 and 17:00. The visiting time will start from the moment the visit actually begins.
7- If these visits coincide with the closed visits that need to be made in the same week and have been predetermined, the open visit granted due to Eid al-Adha in accordance with Article 15 of the Regulation on the Rights of Visits of Convicts and Detainees will be conducted based on the written request of the convicts and detainees, and if it coincides with the monthly open visits, planning will be made to use the unused monthly open visit rights of the convicts and detainees in place of one of the closed visits to be made in the same month.
8- Visits will not be conducted outside the specified days and hours; convicts and detainees who have visited once and visitors will not be allowed a second visit for any reason.
9- To prevent misunderstandings, discussions, and polemics in the public, written and visual media organizations and their members who apply to observe, interview, film, or take photographs of open visits in closed penal institutions will not be permitted.
10- If there are changes to the days on which open visits will be conducted, additional information will be provided."