The ruling party drafted the bill after hundreds of minors, sometimes as young as 12, landed in prison in recent years, sparking a nationwide outcry and accusations that Ankara is not truly committed to ending the bloody conflict in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The legislation effectively provides an amnesty for children currently in prison and makes it much harder for future offenders to be jailed, Kurdish parliament member Bengi Yildiz explained.

"About 190 children currently in jail are expected to walk free ... Also thousands others who remain on trial will benefit from the law," he told AFP.

Stone-throwing children have become a fixture at Kurdish demonstrations, which routinely involve show of support for the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist group by Ankara over its violent 26-year campaign for self-rule in the southeast.

Hundreds of minors have been prosecuted by adult courts under Turkey's tough anti-terror law, which allows judges to consider pro-PKK protests as terrorist propaganda and punish demonstrators with heavy jail terms.

About 2,500 minors aged between 12 and 18 stood trial at juvenile and adult courts under the anti-terror law from 2006 to 2008, and nearly 470 were convicted, according to the justice ministry.

Keen to boost its bid to join the EU, Turkey has notably improved its human rights record, but remains under criticism on a range of issues, notably restrictions on civic society and ill-treatment by the security forces.

The government has pledged to expand Kurdish freedoms despite a dramatic escalation in deadly PKK attacks over the past two months.