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Turkish prisons struggle to cope with demand

At least 50,000 people have been jailed in Turkey since the 2016 coup attempt and there are plans to build 228 new prisons over the next five years to make room for more.
Turkish gendarmes work outside the Silivri prison complex near Istanbul, Turkey, August 5, 2016. Picture taken August 5, 2016.  REUTERS/Osman Orsal      - S1AETVXXECAB

International Human Rights Day is getting grimmer by the year in Turkey. At least 50,000 people have been jailed since last year’s attempted coup on July 15. Well over 150,000 have spent time in police custody since a continuing state of emergency was declared in its wake.

The number of detainees is swelling at such a dizzying rate that authorities will have to build 228 new prisons over the next five years to make room for them.

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