Media reports added that the men’s lawyers had already filed the petition for their clients’ release at the Istanbul court that ordered their arrest.
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkey’s highest court has ruled that authorities violated the rights of two prominent journalists who were jailed on terror and espionage charges, paving the way for their release.
The photos, videos, and report were published in May, and claimed to show intelligence officials transporting arms to Syria in trucks – allegedly to opposition fighters – in 2014.
The case has now been sent back to the lower criminal court, which should approve the top court’s decision and allow the release of the journalists possibly within hours, the private NTV television station reported.
Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, (R), accompanied by his Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul, speaks to the media after being released from prison outside the Silivri prison complex near Istanbul, Turkey early February 26, 2016.
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Twitter that he was “shocked by life sentences” demanded for Dundar and Gul, and that as a country negotiating for EU membership, Turkey must respect freedom of expression.
They have been formally charged with obtaining and revealing state secrets “for espionage purposes” and seeking to “violently” overthrow the Turkish government as well as aiding an “armed terrorist organisation”.
The trial of Dundar and Gul is due to open March 25 with both journalists facing possible sentences of life imprisonment if convicted.
“This verdict has cleared the way not only for us but for all of our colleagues and freedom of press and expression”. “We will not rest until the absurd charges against them have been dropped”, RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
However the ruling by the court could be used by the defence and have a major impact on the course of the trial.
The newspaper report had sparked a furore in Turkey, fuelling speculation about the government’s role in the Syrian conflict and its alleged dealings with Islamist rebels in Syria.
In a faxed message from prison in January, Dundar and Gul said the case had no legal basis and was created to send a warning to journalists.
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Two journalists who embarrassed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a scoop disclosing covert Turkish arms trafficking to Syria are being released, judicial sources say.
