As the final of several working group meetings on drafting amendments to legislation regulating disciplinary sanctions and reward practices for prisoners in Türkiye, a round table meeting was held in Ankara on 18 and 19 January 2024. The aim of the event was to present the amendments and receive final comments from the stakeholders.

The meeting brought together high level representatives from the Embassies of Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands, the Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses (DGPDH), prosecutors, judges, the Ombudsman Institution, Human Rights and Equality Institution, Ankara Bar Association, and international experts from the Council of Europe. On the second day of the Round table, a session on international best practices from Spain, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands was organised to encourage further discussions on effective implementation of discipline and the importance of reward mechanisms in ensuring safety and security while aiming at rehabilitation of prisoners.

In his opening speech, the Director General of DGPDH Enis Yavuz Yıldırım emphasized the support his authorities receive from the Council of Europe for aligning the current legislation with international standards to ensure a modern and more human-oriented prison system. The process for endorsement of the revised legislation will be discussed with and followed up by the relevant departments from the Ministry of Justice.

This RT meeting was organised within the scope of the Project on "Enhancing the Disciplinary and Reward Procedures for Prisoners in Türkiye” co-funded by Norway, the Human Rights Trust Fund of the Council of Europe, Belgium, Türkiye, and the Netherlands.