AK Party sets conditions for discussions of MHP's amnesty bill

The chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed that the amnesty bill of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) can be discussed and some steps might be taken according to the evaluations.

Commenting on the issue yesterday, ahead of his visit to the United States, Erdoğan said "If the crimes were committed against the state, the state can be entitled to pardon this crime. Yet, if the crime was committed against individuals, the state has no authority to pardon the convicted inmate. Only those who harmed by these crimes can pardon the perpetrators."

The MHP is expected to submit a proposal of amnesty draft to Turkish parliamentary speaker's office today as the party had been long calling for steps to be taken regarding the issue.

In a press conference held on Saturday, MHP vice chairman and İstanbul deputy Feti Yıldız stated that "the 5 years of conditional reduction will be granted to the penalties of crimes committed before March 19, 2018. Crimes committed against the state, crimes of terrorism, sexual abuse, and murder in first degree will be excluded from the bill."

Pointing out that overcrowded prisons create an environment that harms the health of the prisoners and degrades human dignity, Yıldız indicated that the bill is prepared with the aim of relieving unjust sufferings of inmates and reintegrating prisoners into society.

Prior to the June 24 presidential elections, in which the AK Party and MHP formed the People's Alliance that is agreed to continue for the upcoming local elections as well, the chairman of the MHP Devlet Bahçeli called for a general pardon. However, the AK Party had said that it was not on their agenda despite the alliance between the two parties.