By Necip F. Bahadır
In today’s Turkey under the Justice and Development Party (AKP), prisons have become symbolic checkpoints—places where not only politics but the country’s pulse can be felt. The European Parliament’s Turkey Rapporteur, Nacho Sánchez Amor, recently visited Turkey’s Silivri and Edirne prisons, meeting with four prominent political figures: Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Former Co-Chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş, Businessman and Human Rights Defender Osman Kavala, and Human Rights Lawyer and Former Member of Parliament Can Atalay.
Yet even this list feels incomplete. Why not include Journalist Hidayet Karaca, who has been imprisoned in Turkey for a decade? Or Former High-Level Bureaucrat Hüseyin Kocabıyık, arrested just months ago and now largely forgotten inside Turkey’s overcrowded prisons?
For years, Turkey’s Ministry of Justice did not even allow such visits. Requests from European institutions went unanswered. So the question arises: Will this visit make any difference in European public opinion—and more importantly, in Turkey?
Sadly, Turkey today appears to many as a hopeless case. Even in Turkey’s own media, Sánchez Amor’s visit barely made headlines. The current Turkish government shows almost no willingness to hear dissident voices. As many observers note, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP leadership seem closed off entirely to the cries for justice echoing across Turkey. When hearts are sealed, what ear hears and what eye sees?
Turkey’s Lost European Horizon
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk once defined the national goal as reaching the level of “contemporary civilizations.” President Erdoğan occasionally repeats this phrase, but it remains mere rhetoric. The European Union is no longer a meaningful agenda for the AKP government. This is striking, given that Turkey once opened accession chapters and initiated negotiations with real momentum.
Erdoğan recently stated, “There is a huge gap between the Turkey we inherited and the Turkey of today.”
Indeed, the gap is real—but not in the positive sense implied.
Which area of Turkey is objectively better today?
Economy?
Public welfare?
Judicial independence?
International reputation?
Corruption and poverty reduction?
Democracy?
Ethical standards?
On almost every front, Turkey has regressed. Even Former First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül once remarked, “We did not experience this level of difficulty even during the February 28 era.” Similar laments from Turkey’s headscarf-wearing women remain archived in public memory.
Turkey today faces a profound collapse. Its social fabric has been devastated by the AKP’s political engineering. Many in Turkey have grown disillusioned with religion itself, largely because of the government’s instrumentalization of faith.
Erdoğan’s EU Agenda Was Always Personal
Turkey’s earlier EU ambitions were not driven by a national interest but by President Erdoğan’s personal political calculus. His effort to incorporate European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings into Turkey’s constitutional order was, as it now appears, merely a strategy for removing obstacles in his own path. Once Erdoğan secured what he needed, Turkey’s EU trajectory was quietly abandoned.
In those earlier years, Turkey took seriously the “report cards” issued by European institutions. A critical report from Brussels once caused immediate tremors in Ankara. Even governments under pressure domestically felt compelled to uphold universal principles and EU norms.
But today?
Sánchez Amor came, toured Turkey’s prisons, issued alarming warnings, and Ankara shrugged.
The Rapporteur noted:
“It is sad to see Turkey’s unwillingness to uphold the rule of law and judicial independence. Turkey is missing a renewed window of opportunity in Europe.”
A Crisis of Accountability—Both in Turkey and Europe
There is little optimism. The AKP government is difficult to bring back to the negotiating table, but Europe also shows a similar reluctance. The European Union has not exerted meaningful pressure to ensure Turkey’s compliance with ECtHR rulings.
Did European capitals ever speak in a language the Turkish government understands?
Consider how former U.S. President Donald Trump forced Erdoğan to release Pastor Andrew Brunson, despite Erdoğan’s insistence that Brunson would “remain in prison as long as he has a soul in his body.” Washington’s pressure prevailed quickly.
Where were Europe’s decisive steps?
Could the EU not insist on implementation of ECtHR judgments?
Could it not reject Erdoğan’s transactional “We’ll just pay the fine” argument?
In Turkey, citizens who support democracy feel deeply let down—not only by their own government but also by Europe’s passivity.
Turkey’s Prisons: A Mirror of the State
Rapporteur Sánchez Amor made a striking observation:
“By refusing to implement ECtHR rulings, Turkish authorities have effectively suspended parts of Turkey’s Constitution.”
This is one of the gravest accusations imaginable toward a political authority.
Prominent Turkish jurists—Prof. Sami Selçuk, Prof. İzzet Özgenç, and Prof. Adem Sözüer—have long warned the government about constitutional violations. But to no avail.
Turkey’s societal sensitivity to justice has also eroded. The AKP government has numbed public consciousness. President Erdoğan has hypnotized his political base, making it indifferent to rule-of-law concerns.
Yet prisons remain Turkey’s truest mirror. From Damascus under Bashar al-Assad to Ankara under the AKP, prisons reveal the inner truth of political regimes. Someday, when Turkey’s AKP era is studied, its prisons—Silivri, Edirne, Sincan—will occupy central chapters.
Could Erdoğan Allow a Surprise Release in Turkey?
Sánchez Amor’s visit is meaningful, and seeing Turkey’s prisons up close matters. But it must not stop here. European capitals should not watch from afar as Turkey dismisses ECtHR rulings.
Will Turkey now move toward releasing Selahattin Demirtaş, as some speculate?
Why not? Turkish politics has seen stranger turns.
In any case, as the Rapporteur said:
“Turkey’s path to Europe begins in places like Silivri.”
For now, unfortunately, no road from Silivri, Edirne, or Sincan leads to Brussels.
