Judge ordered release of Turkish journalists

istanbul - The judge in Istanbul ordered Friday the release of Ahmet Sik and Murat Sabuncu, respectively investigative journalist and chief editor of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet.

This has among other things reported the site Hürriyet Daily News. They were arrested after the failed coup in the summer of 2016.

The Erdogan government accused Sik and Sabuncu, among others, of having ties with the Fethullah Gülen, who is living in the US, according to the Turkish president, the brains behind the coup. The two may leave the prison until there is a verdict in the trial. Akin Atalay, the CEO of Cumhuriyet, remains stuck, at least until the next hearing on 16 March.

In this case, the public prosecutors have demanded cell sentences of up to 43 years against the staff members of the critical newspaper. According to them, this has been 'taken over' by the Gülen network. In total, eighteen employees of the magazine were arrested.