Sentence Enforcement Law, Probation and Prison Procedures

The sentence term record is the document in the enforcement file that shows the sentence and the relevant dates. The date of conditional release and the date on which the entire sentence will have been enforced (bihakkın tahliye) are assessed separately. Placement under probation, on the other hand, is not an automatic act that depends only on the date shown in the sentence term record.

• Checking the final judgment (ilam), the date of the offense, the type and length of the sentence, and the recidivism provisions.
• Examining whether the periods spent in police custody and in pretrial detention have been credited and whether the same period has been counted more than once.
• In the case of more than one conviction, the aggregation of sentences (içtima), the different enforcement regimes and the effect of newly arrived judgments on the calculation.
• Correcting an incorrect enforcement calculation; assessing doubt in the interpretation of the judgment or about the sentence to be served, the more favorable law and the need for adaptation of the sentence (uyarlama).

Whether the application is addressed to the enforcement prosecutor’s office, the enforcement judgeship or the court that issued the judgment depends on the legal nature of the request. A general online table for calculating the time to be served (“yatar hesabı”) does not take the place of this file-specific review.

Basis: Law No. 5275 · Law No. 5237

Article 105/A of Law No. 5275 allows a convicted person who meets the conditions to serve the part of the sentence up to the date of conditional release under the probation measure. Being held in an open institution or a juvenile education institution (çocuk eğitimevi), good conduct, the remaining period, the request and the evaluation report are examined together; the decision is given by the competent enforcement judge. The special provision of the law is assessed separately for those who could not be transferred to an open institution for reasons independent of their own will.

The one-year period in the general rule is not the only yardstick for every file. Different conditions may apply to women with small children, to persons who cannot live on their own because of serious illness, disability or old age, and to convicted persons covered by the Provisional Articles.

The regulation introduced on June 4, 2025 provides that at least one-tenth of the period required to be spent in the institution until the date of conditional release, and in any case not less than five days, must be spent in the institution. However, under Provisional Article 11, this new condition does not apply to offenses committed before its date of entry into force. When a file is reviewed, the date of the offense and the transitional provision to be applied are checked together.

Provisional Article 6, concerning March 30, 2020 and earlier, and the sixth paragraph of Provisional Article 10, concerning offenses committed on or before July 31, 2023, are different provisions. Provisional Article 10/6 applies with its own conditions, including the offenses outside its scope and the periods that must be spent in the institution. Following the December 25, 2025 amendment, the date of the offense is the basis for this paragraph; the assessment is not made solely on whether the person was in prison on that date. These provisions do not mean erasure of the sentence or automatic release for everyone.

• Examination of the application, the supervision plan and obligations such as signing in, programs, work or geographic restrictions.
• Preparation of the necessary change or excuse applications because of health, work, residence and family circumstances.
• Assessment of notifications, warnings, violations and decisions to return to the institution together with their grounds.

If an obligation cannot be fulfilled, it is important that the excuse be notified to the relevant directorate without delay and with documents. A change of address or job does not mean that the obligation lapses by itself. Judicial control at the investigation stage and probation applied for other legal reasons are separate from this enforcement regime.

Basis: Law No. 5275 · Law No. 5402

Conditional release comes onto the agenda when, depending on the regime to be applied, the period required to be spent in the institution has been completed with good conduct and the relevant decision has been given. The type of offense, a fixed-term or life prison sentence, recidivism and special provisions may lead to different results. It is not correct to apply one ratio to all offenses.

The June 4, 2025 amendment is also significant with regard to second-time recidivism. The conditional release ratio for fixed-term prison sentences is set at three-quarters; one should not act on the old information that “a second-time recidivist can in no way be conditionally released”. The other statutory conditions and the content of the judgment are still examined.

Revocation of conditional release and a violation of probation are not the same act. In the case of a new offense or an allegation of breach of an obligation, the basis of the decision, the calculation of the remaining sentence and the application route are assessed separately. Conditional release does not mean that the conviction or the criminal record disappears by itself.

Basis: Law No. 5275

Direct admission to an open penal institution and transfer from a closed institution to an open one depend on different conditions. The type of offense, the total sentence, recidivism, the time spent in the institution and the good conduct assessment are examined together. In the groups specified by law, the decision of the administration and observation board must also be approved by the enforcement judge.

The good conduct assessment cannot be reduced to whether there is a disciplinary punishment. How the criteria set out in the law have been applied to the specific person, the reasoning of the decision, the assessment records and the date of re-examination are reviewed. A negative assessment may affect the transfer to an open institution, probation or the conditional release process.

• Complaint against the decision of the administration and observation board and examination of the reasoning of the decision.
• Defense in the disciplinary investigation, the accusation, the records on which it is based and procedural objections.
• Conditions for lifting a disciplinary punishment and assessment of its effect on good conduct.
• Follow-up of decisions to return from an open institution to a closed one and of acts concerning return from leave.

Basis: Law No. 5275 · Law No. 4675

Deferral of enforcement because of illness or disability, postponement at the request of the convicted person, interruption of enforcement and serving the sentence at home are different legal routes. In each of them, the deciding authority, the excluded cases, the report and the other conditions are examined separately.

• In cases of serious illness, disability or inability to sustain one’s life alone under prison conditions, assessment of health documents and the necessary official report process.
• Deferral of enforcement because of pregnancy and childbirth; conditions concerning a woman convicted person who is responsible for the care of a seriously ill or disabled child.
• Postponement in respect of a convicted person who applies upon summons; interruption of enforcement in the compulsory and urgent cases set out in the law.
• Examination of the conditions for enforcement at home, at night or on weekends in terms of age, sex, length of the sentence, type of offense and personal circumstances.

A special health report alone does not take the place of a decision on release or postponement. The urgency of the health problem, the report procedure required by the law and the decision of the competent authority are addressed together. Making an application also does not stop enforcement by itself.

For child convicts, age, the type of institution and the enforcement provisions specific to children are assessed separately. The current exceptions by type of offense are checked in the transfer to a juvenile education institution and in the calculation of enforcement periods; a calculation prepared for adults is not applied directly.

Basis: Law No. 5275

Being in prison does not remove a person’s access to health services, meetings with an attorney and the other rights recognized by law. However, procedures concerning visits, correspondence, acceptance of items, leave and transfer are carried out according to the status of convicted person or detainee, the type of institution and the relevant legislation.

• Requests concerning attorney and family visits, telephone and other means of correspondence, and restriction decisions.
• Examination, treatment, medication, referral to hospital, conditions suitable for disability and health applications.
• Transfer to an institution close to the family, transfer for health or security reasons, and referral procedures.
• Leave for a valid excuse (mazeret izni) where the statutory conditions are met, and requests concerning education and study, work and social activities.

If a request is rejected, the written decision, the reasoning and the date of notification are obtained and the appropriate application route is determined. A detainee’s complaint about prison conditions and a release request against the pretrial detention order may be examined by different authorities. In an acute danger to life or health, the necessary institutional and health applications should not be delayed.

Basis: Law No. 5275 · Law No. 4675

The payment order for a judicial fine, the conditions of payment or installments and the consequences attached to non-payment are assessed separately from the ordinary enforcement of a prison sentence. It cannot be assumed that the probation and conditional release provisions of Article 105/A of Law No. 5275 will apply to imprisonment converted from a judicial fine.

After enforcement is completed, applications concerning the criminal record and archive records and, where the conditions are met, restoration of forfeited rights are handled separately. Moving a record from the register to the archive, deletion from the archive and restoration of rights are not the same act; the relevant record, decision and statutory conditions are checked for each.

Basis: Law No. 5275 · Law No. 5352

For foreign convicted persons in Türkiye and Turkish citizens whose sentences are enforced abroad, the transfer of convicted persons is assessed within the framework of the applicable international conventions and Law No. 6706. Transfer of a convicted person and extradition are different procedures.

Conditions such as a final judgment, citizenship or strong social ties, consent, dual criminality, the remaining enforcement period and acceptance by the states concerned are examined according to the specific file. A transfer to or from Türkiye does not take place by itself merely at the family’s request. Application preparation on the basis of the foreign judgment, the enforcement information and the necessary translations, and follow-up of the process between the authorities, are carried out.

Basis: Law No. 6706

A conditional assessment of the likely regime and dates can be made before finalization. However, the judgment or the sentence may change on legal remedy review. A calculation made on a decision that has not become final cannot be presented as a definite release date.

Relatives may make the first contact. The person’s legal situation, request and conditions of representation are determined; where necessary, an attorney meeting in the prison is planned. A relative’s application alone is not sufficient for all file information to be disclosed to them.

It may. The finalization of the new judgment, its relationship with the other sentences, the regime to be applied and the records of credit for time served are examined together. A date obtained on the basis of an earlier sentence term record should be compared again with the current file.

Notify the relevant probation directorate (denetimli serbestlik müdürlüğü) of the excuse and the document showing it without delay, and keep the record of the notification. The notification does not mean the excuse has been accepted. If there is a summons, warning or decision, it should also be reviewed separately; later obligations should not be neglected.

On the necessary notification and request, the conditions may be reassessed. The person should not change the place of signing in, the working hours or the obligation on their own decision. The new arrangement is determined by the decision of the competent unit or authority.

Proximity to the family can support the request; however, transfer is not automatic. The type of institution, security, capacity, health and the conditions in the relevant legislation are assessed. Documents supporting the request and, if any, the reasoning of the rejection decision are important.

Although the lifting of a disciplinary punishment is important, it is not the only element of the good conduct assessment. How the board assessed the other statutory criteria in the specific case and the reasoning of the decision are also examined.

The request can be assessed; however, the conformity of the report with the procedure required by law and the other conditions are checked. Enforcement at home, deferral because of illness and probation are different routes. Which route is appropriate is determined according to the file.

A complaint alone does not stop the act. If the statutory conditions are met, postponement or stoppage is requested separately. The fact that an application has been made does not by itself suspend the obligation to report on summons, to surrender or to be supervised.

The first consultation can be planned remotely. The person’s will, the authorization, the necessary power of attorney procedures and the limits of information sharing are determined. For documents in a foreign language and powers of attorney issued abroad, a separate review of form and translation may be required.

Release, conditional release, completion of the sentence and record procedures are different stages. The relevant conditions in Law No. 5352 for moving the record from the register to the archive or deleting it from the archive are assessed separately.

No. Legal service covers checking the calculation, preparing the appropriate request, observing rights and time limits, and following the acts undertaken. The decision is given by the competent authority that assesses the statutory conditions.