Prison

The director of Cyprus' prisons complex says no inmates have committed suicide over the last two years following sweeping reforms in the east Mediterranean island nation's correctional system.

Significant reductions of over 10 percent were recorded in the incarceration rate in Greece (-18.8 percent), Croatia (-10 percent) and Denmark (-11 percent) between 2014 and 2015, according to the Council of Europe's annual penal statistics (SPACE), published on Tuesday.

A new regulation introduced by the Turkish Justice Ministry due to overpopulation in prisons excludes inmates arrested or convicted on terrorism, drugs or sexual abuse charges, officials have said. 

Overpopulation in Turkish prisons in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, which is widely believed to have been orchestrated by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), has led the Turkish Justice Ministry to introduce new regulations that would better prison conditions for inmates serving less than 10 years in prison. 

The rape and murder in Germany earlier this year of a young student by an Afghan migrant freed from a Greek prison has spurred a debate about the shortfalls of the Greek justice system.
 

The Justice Ministry on Thursday pledged to allot an additional 3 million euros by the end of the year for improving conditions at the country's prisons, which have been criticized by rights groups for failing to adhere to European standards.

Turkey's prison population rose by nearly 12 percent in 2015, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on Dec. 2.      

The number of prisoners stood at 177,262 by the year's end, an 11.7 percent rise on 12 months earlier. These numbers do not account for the huge rise in inmates in the aftermath of Turkey's failed military coup attempt of July 15.

The Justice Ministry has been allocated EUR 10 500 to pay two prison inmates who have won cases against Bulgaria, the government says.

Jock Palfreeman and Nikolay Shahanov will be paid EUR 3500 and EUR 7000 respectively.

Air defense systems with anti-aircraft weapons have been set up in three prisons in Turkey as a part of the precautions in jails after the failed July 15 coup attempt. The weapons were placed in Sincan Prison in Ankara, Şakran Prison in the western province of İzmir and Silivri Prison in Istanbul, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found Turkey guilty for violating the right to life in a notorious police operation at an Istanbul prison in 2000. 

Twelve people, relatives of the victims of the December 2000 police operation known as "Hayata Dönüş" (Return to Life) in Bayrampaşa Prison, had applied to the court.