Turkey is set to release 38,000 prisoners that are currently in jail in an apparent move to make space for those who plotted last month's coup, Turkish justice minister Bekir Bozdag wrote on Twitter, adding that the prisoners would be under freed as part of a 'supervised release'.
It comes as Turkey already has an overstretched prison population but has arrested more than 35,000 people in connection with a failed coup attempt in the country.
The decree also said authorities would release inmates who have displayed good behavior and have two years or less to serve of their sentences, the Daily Mail reports.
However, people convicted for murder, domestic violence, sexual abuse or crimes against the state will be excluded from the scheme.
However, Mr Bozdag did insist that an early release was not a pardon or an amnesty.
