A new law promoted by the government of Turkey and passed by the Parliament could allow the release of hundreds of underage Kurds currently jailed in Turkish prisons. Most of them remain imprisoned under 2006 amendment of the antiterrorist act, which permitted to trial as adult young people of 15 to 18 years old and allowed for 12 to 18 years old children to be considered as members of a terror organization. In many cases their sentence even exceeded their own age.

The great majority of them were arrested after attending pro-Kurdish demonstrations and other public events, chanting slogans, using the V sign or throwing stones to Turkish police and army forces. Now, under the recently approved legislation, popularly known as the "stone-throwing children" law, sentences have been reduced from 18 to 6 months. According to Today's Zaman, those attending "illegal" protests or spreading "separatist propaganda" won't be persecuted under the antiterrorist law. Cases involving minor people will be trialed by a juvenile court.

According to estimates, more than 2,000 Kurdish children are detained in Turkish prisons, either serving sentences or waiting for a trial. It is expected that during the first weeks of the enforcement of the new legislation 200 underage will be released. Up to now, about 50 children have been let off since the law first came into force last Sunday.

The law was one of the first proposals made by the AKP-led Turkish government last year as part of the ‘democratic initiative' promoted by Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voted against the measure, while the other ultranationalist Turkish party in opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), gave a yes-vote only to several articles. The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) welcomed the legislation.

The Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin declared that the new law will refrain the PKK from using children as weapons: "We want these kids to not be soldiers who fight security forces, but children who can benefit from the riches of this country", he said.

Further information:

• Today's Zaman: Democratic initiative's first law passes in Parliament
• Hürriyet: Some 50 'stone-throwing children' released from prison in Turkey
• Kurdish Info: Children no Longer Tried like Members of Terror Organizations
• NYTimes.com: Turkey Softens Law That Jailed Young Kurds
• Report at Kurdish Info: The Punitive-Justice System that Kurdish Children are Subjected to in the 21st Century Turkey [pdf]