Abdulhamit Gül

The Turkish government is planning to discuss some "essential changes" in the country's electoral law with all political parties, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said on June 15.

Speaking in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency, Gül said that the government is approaching all issues by thinking how the matter will affect democracy, the rule of law and the nation's common will.

The Turkish keyboard team has won eight medals, including three world championships, in an Internet keyboarding competition.

Nearly 1,500 competitors took part in the International Federation for Information and Communication Processing (Intersteno) International Keyboarding Championship via the Internet over April 14 to June 1.

Courthouses in Turkey will start using thermal cameras at their entrances to screen for fevers to prevent anyone potentially infected with the coronavirus from entering the premises, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül said on May 29 as the country's judiciary is set to resume its work as part of its normalization phase.

Turkey's parliament ratified a penal reform bill early on April 14 aimed at reducing the sentences of thousands of prisoners, paving the way for their release in a bid to ease overcrowding and protect them from the coronavirus.

The bill was supported by 279 lawmakers in the 600-seat chamber while 51 voted against it.

Three inmates out of 17 infected in open prisons were killed from the novel coronavirus, the justice minister has said, as parliament is continuing discussions on a bill that would release around 90,000 prisoners in a bid to ease the conditions in jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said on April 6 that probes have been launched into 750 people in 66 provinces, for not abiding by the measures the government has taken to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"Investigations have been opened for 750 people in 66 provinces by chief public prosecutors' offices," Gül said.

Turkey's confirmed cases of the coronavirus increased by 1,704 in the past 24 hours, and 53 more people have died, taking the death toll to 3,894, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on May 12.

Turkey's total confirmed cases stood at 141,475, according to the graphic Koca shared at Twitter. 

Some 3,109 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, Koca added.

Employees in Turkey's prisons will go into isolation for a "determined time span" and will not immediately go to their homes after their shifts, the justice minister has said.

"As of [March 30], prison staff will not be sent to their homes for a determined timespan and will stay at isolated locations," Abdulhamit Gül said on March 30.

Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül has announced that all judicial proceedings have been suspended until April 30, as part of measures taken to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Turkey confirmed late on March 19 its fourth death related to the coronavirus and the country nearly doubled its confirmed cases to 359, from 191 a day earlier.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that an 85-year-old woman died due to the novel coronavirus.