Special prisons to be established for drug-addicted inmates

ANKARA

The Justice Ministry has initiated efforts to establish specialized prisons and created dedicated areas within existing detention facilities for the treatment and rehabilitation of inmates with substance abuse issues, a senior official has announced.

"While drug addiction is classified as a crime under our laws, it is also a malady requiring treatment. Providing only psychosocial support to these individuals is not enough; they must receive medical assistance," said Enis Yavuz Yıldırım, the director-general of the Prisons and Detention Houses Directorate of the ministry, during his interview with daily Milliyet.

Explaining the current system in prisons, Yıldırım noted that while inmates initially stay in closed prisons for a period, they are later transferred to "open prisons,” a system in which inmates are allowed to stay outside for a certain period of time and where access to drugs becomes easier.

"We want to gather inmates in prisons specifically designed and built for this purpose. These facilities will encompass a comprehensive psychosocial service, complemented by psychiatric and pharmacological support extended by the Health Ministry."

"If separate prisons cannot be established in a region, then we plan to build a separate area within existing prisons for this purpose,” he said.

Yıldırım emphasized the need to observe drug addicts during crisis moments, adding that some areas will be designed with special architecture to facilitate monitoring.

"Concurrently, groundwork has been initiated for the prison-hospital project. Cities with psychiatric hospitals will have an advantage in this regard."

Yıldırım also noted that Türkiye ranks last in terms of drug use prevalence in Europe but ranks third in terms of criminal proceedings related to drugs and first in terms of imprisonment due to drugs.

"The reason for this is not the widespread use of drugs but Türkiye’s punitive policy on drugs,” he explained.

Yıldırım stated that there are around 107,000 inmates in Turkish prisons convicted of drug-related offenses, adding that the proportion of drug addiction in prisons has decreased compared to previous years.