Turkey Parliament Approves Limited Amnesty for PKK Militants in Historic Vote
The 'terror-free Turkey law' passes with broad cross-party support, marking the first legislative step in a peace process aimed at ending decades of conflict, though tensions remain over the fate of the group's imprisoned leader.
Turkey’s parliament has approved a limited amnesty bill for Kurdish PKK militants, marking a significant legislative step in a peace process aimed at ending decades of conflict. The legislation, passed with 468 votes in favour and 88 against, suspends prosecutions and prison sentences for certain offences for a period of five to 10 years. This measure is expected to lead to the release of approximately 3,500 detainees, representing roughly one-third of those held in Turkish prisons linked to the PKK.
The bill, dubbed the "terror-free Turkey law," was approved after 12 hours of debate. It envisages a return to civilian life for some PKK fighters who lay down their weapons, without granting a total amnesty. If those covered by the measure do not reoffend during the suspension period, investigations will be dropped and sentences considered served. However, the law explicitly excludes individuals involved in serious crimes, such as murder.
Crucially, the text does not specify the fate of Abdullah Ocalan, the 77-year-old founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who has spent the past 27 years in solitary confinement on Imrali prison island. Ocalan played a key role in the current peace efforts, issuing a historic call in February 2025 for his fighters to disarm and embrace democratic means. Despite this, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz stated that Ocalan’s case "does not fall within the scope of this law," though he suggested the founder could still contribute to the peace process.
The legislation has garnered support from both the hardline nationalist MHP, led by Devlet Bahceli, and the pro-Kurdish DEM party. Bahceli’s previous outreach to Ocalan in October 2024 was cited as a catalyst for the process. DEM MP Ceylan Akca described the vote as crossing a "historic threshold," expressing optimism about the path towards equality, while Vice President Yilmaz hailed the 468 "yes" votes as a sign of strong political consensus.
However, the PKK leadership has warned that excluding Ocalan from the legislation is a "red line." The group has cautioned that many of the bill's provisions may remain a "dead letter" without his release. The government had been keen to stress that the text was not a general amnesty law, aware of the misgivings of the Turkish public which has been scarred by decades of bloody conflict.
