Under the influence of the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish judiciary has frequently shown leniency in its approach toward armed jihadist groups, including ISIS, within Turkey.
On October 1, 2023 Turkish authorities in Ordu province released an Iraqi national wanted on terrorism charges and facing an outstanding arrest warrant after a brief period of police detention.
Yerlikaya responded to queries from lawmakers at a parliamentary committee meeting on November 8. In Gaziantep, a southeastern province where ISIS has operated with various cells, police detained 18 ISIS suspects on October 27, 2023, but only four were arrested. Similarly, in Bursa on the same day, police detained seven individuals on suspicion of ISIS terrorism, but only one was remanded in custody pending trial.
Moreover, the Erdogan government continues to classify the number of ISIS convicts as a national security secret. Since 2019 authorities have not disclosed the actual figures of ISIS members currently incarcerated on terrorism charges.
The release of ISIS members in Turkey is also a global concern. Former interior minister Süleyman Soylu revealed in February 2023 that the government has repatriated 1,126 ISIS militants of European origin back to Europe in the last five years. Several ISIS members who have been involved in terrorist activities in Europe have somehow passed through Turkey or lived in Turkey for some time.