Example 'conjugal visit' rooms introduced in eastern province

MUŞ - Anatolia News Agency

The officials in charge of overseeing the visits were chosen from “staff that are more likely to preserve the inmates’ privacy,” a public prosecutor told Anatolia news agency. AA photo

Rooms where inmates will be able to meet their spouses and children following recent regulation changes were showcased on April 1 in the eastern province of Muş.

The law took affect on March 31, allowing prison inmates to meet with their spouses and families, in return for keeping up with prison regulations and following prison rules.

Four rooms in total were prepared in Muş, where the prison holds nearly 620 inmates, for the conjugal visits. The rooms stand out as spacious, comfortable and contain television sets, refrigerators, couches, closets and beds. Each room also has its own bathroom.

Inmates who follow the rules of the prison will be rewarded with one meeting every three months, and will be allowed to spend the night with his or her spouse and children. The system however excludes inmates serving time for charges related to terrorist activities.

The officials in charge of overseeing the visits were chosen from “staff that are more likely to preserve the inmates’ privacy,” public prosecutor Hasan Kaya told Anatolia news agency.

“Hopefully, [Muş Prison] will be the first prison that starts [the conjugal visits] without any further problems,” Kaya said.

According to statistics from the Justice Ministry, 50,000 of 120,000 total inmates of Turkish prisons are married. The new law allowing for conjugal visits in Turkish prisons went into effect on March 31.