The people behind the numbers: Bringing the reality of Turkish prisons to light

A group called Gündem Hapishane launched a Substack newsletter, Prison Agenda, on January 1, 2026, aiming to translate scattered official data on Turkish prisons into plain language. Founders Ahmet Kavruk and Tutku Sönmez say Türkiye has the largest prison population in Europe, having more than doubled over the last decade, yet coverage tends to surface only around high-profile political cases like the 11th Judicial Package debated in late 2025.

The newsletter reviews official statistics, parliamentary minutes, Council of Europe reports and academic research, then converts them into infographics and short analyses, drawing on international standards like the Bangkok Rules and Mandela Rules. It has grown to 435 subscribers across Turkish and English editions in six months, producing regular bulletins on news, data and parliamentary monitoring.

The founders describe access to prison information as limited and bureaucratic processes as slow, particularly amid pressure on civil society, and cite funding independent journalism as an ongoing challenge.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.