Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said that the government issued a decree paving the way for the conditional release of 38,000 prisoners, the AP reported on Wednesday.

The decision is “an apparent move to make space for thousands of people who have been arrested as part of an investigation into last month's failed coup attempt,” according to the newswire.

Bozdag said on his Twitter account that the measure was not a pardon or an amnesty, the AP said.

The decree opens the way for the release of inmates who have two years or less to serve of their prison terms and makes convicts who have served half of their prison term eligible for parole.

However, people convicted of terrorism and other crimes against the state as well as murder, domestic violence, and sexual abuse are not eligible for release under the decree.

The measure will not apply for crimes committed after 1 July, which excludes any people convicted of involvement in the 15 July coup attempt.

According to Turkish media reports, over 35,000 people have been detained in Turkey since the coup attempt and more than 11,000 of them have since been released.

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