The “Dissemination of Model Prison Practices and Promotion of the Prison Reform in Turkey Project” was funded by the European Union (EU) under the 2007 programming of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Component 1: Transition Assistance and Institution Building. The Beneficiary of the Project was the Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses (DGPDH) of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The Project was a Joint Programme (JP) of the EU and the Council of Europe. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU) was the Contracting Authority of this Project. The Project was a continuation of the reform achieved under the Judicial Modernisation and Penal Reform in Turkey Project (JMPR), from which the DGPDH had benefited between 1 June 2004 and 30 April 2007.

The Project aimed to provide assistance to the DGPDH’s efforts to elevate the penitentiary system in Turkey to the level envisaged by the European Prison Rules (EPR) and other international standards through creating a professional, effective and efficient prison service, upgrading prison services and contributing to the improvement of detention conditions.

The target groups of the Project were prison staff in 90 medium and high security prisons in Turkey, staff of the DGPDH, prison prosecutors, perimeter security guards, members of prison monitoring boards and enforcement judges. The final beneficiaries of the Project are staff in all Turkish prisons, prisoners, civil society and the public.