(MENAFN) On Friday, a Turkish court ruled that two journalists should be released for the duration of their trial for subversion, a lawyer at the courthouse said.
Murat Sabuncu, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, and writer Ahmet Sik were ordered released, the lawyer said. However, Cumhuriyet said that its attorney, Akin Atalay, was remanded in custody until the next hearing, on March 16.
Prosecutors are seeking up to 43 years in jail for the newspaper staff, who stand accused of targeting Erdogan through "asymmetric war methods."
Along with allegations that staff had been in contact with users of Bylock, an encrypted messaging app the government says was used by Gulen's followers, social media posts made up most of evidence in the indictment.
It has been widely noted that President Erdogan has been increasingly wielding authoritarian measures, especially against freedom of expression, since coming into office in 2014.
It's worth saying that according to the P24 press freedom group, there are 156 jailed journalists in Turkey, most of whom were detained in the mass crackdown after the failed coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.
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