You may be worried about contracting the Coronavirus from friends and family, but imagine being trapped in a jail cell during the COVID-19 outbreak, in which you were unlawfully arrested, and you have no truthful charges against you. The Turkish government has decided to release prisoners from jail on house arrest and parole. These are people convicted of sex offenses, non-premeditated murder, and organized crime. HOWEVER, mothers, children, the sick, pregnant women, etc. will be left in prison, most of which were unlawfully convicted.
To make matters worse, eight more mayors supporting the people’s democratic party were arrested. This means that people who have committed heinous crimes, making up 90,000 out of 300,000 prisoners, are having their sentences cut in half and released to their homes while the 210,000 “political” prisoners are forced to stay and are even being added to! The biases need to end, and Turkey needs our help to stop them.
I have been contacting my state representatives and senators to express my concern and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. I urge you to do the same. If you want to be a part of this change, and show the Turkish government that this has concerns outside of their country as well, the petition to contribute to making this change is below. Speak up for the voiceless, and put yourself in their position. If you had a sibling or parent in jail while murderers and criminals walk out of the same prison and go home on parole or house arrest and see their family, while you are not allowed visitors unless they are approved by the prosecutor? Would you stand idly by and be a silent bystander? Will you ignore what is right in front of you because it is happening in another country? Wouldn’t we want others to advocate for us if these human rights violations were happening in our country?
View a petition to help here -http://chng.it/HYTN682K5f