197 children in prison on terror charges in Turkey
Rifat Başaran - ANKARA
Some 197 children were in prison on terror charges and a total of 2,767 children between the ages of 12 and 18 were in prison in Turkey as of Aug. 1, the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses has stated.
In response to an official question from main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Onursal Adıgüzel, 1,403 of these children were in children’s educational facilities and juvenile prisons while 1,364 of them were currently in adult prisons.
The directorate also stated that 111 of the total children in prison were receiving basic literacy courses, 62 of them were receiving secondary literacy courses, 187 of them were attending distance education middle schools, 495 of them were attending distance education high schools and 219 of them were receiving a normal education. It was stated only one was attending university.
Of those in prison on terror-related offenses, 15 of the 197 children were residing in education facilities and four of them were currently enrolled in an education system, the directorate reported.
Furthermore, “33 of the 182 children who were in juvenile prisons or in the child section of adult prisons were currently enrolled in a non-formal education system. One was enrolled in basic literacy education,” it stated.
