Prison Agenda: Bringing Human Stories Behind Turkish Prisons to Light

In late 2025, Turkish prisons became more visible due to the 11th Judicial Package, a legislative reform that sparked public debate. However, the discussions often revolved around well-known individuals or high-profile cases, leaving the majority of prisoners invisible. To address this, Ahmet Kavruk and Tutku Sönmez launched the Prison Agenda, a Substack newsletter that translates publicly available information into accessible language. They review official statistics, parliamentary commission minutes, and academic research to create infographics, data visualizations, and short analyses. The goal is to remind people that a human being stands behind every number, highlighting the stories of vulnerable groups such as young children, foreign nationals, women, and elderly and disabled prisoners. The project has received 435 subscribers in the first six months and has become an important reference source for journalists, human rights advocates, and civil society workers.