Criticism released journalist Sik on Ankara

The leading Turkish investigative journalist Ahmet Sik has come up with serious criticism of Ankara, shortly after his unexpected release from pre-trial detention.

The court in Istanbul ordered Friday the release of Sik and also of Murat Sabuncu, editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet. They were arrested after the failed coup in the summer of 2016. The Erdogan government also accused them of having ties with the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, according to the Turkish president, the brain behind the coup. The two may leave the prison until there is a verdict in their trial.

Sik says in the video: 'I guarantee that this Mafia sultanate will come to an end. 'In total, eighteen employees of the newspaper were arrested at the time.