Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan released under supervision, reports state media

Veteran journalists Ahmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak have had their lengthy jail terms overturned and are set to be released under judicial supervision.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

04 November, 2019

Ahmet Altan was sentenced to ten years in prison over coup links [Getty]

A Turkish court on Monday ordered journalist Ahmet Altan to be released under judicial supervision despite sentencing him to more than 10 years in prison, Turkey's state news agency Anadolu has reported.

Altan, accused of links to the group blamed for the country's failed coup in 2016, was to be freed following a retrial after he had a life sentence quashed, the court ruled.

Journalist Nazli Ilicak was also to be released after having her own life sentence overturned, Anadolu said.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had called the veteran writers' sentences a "judicial lynching".

Ahmet Altan, 67, is a novelist and journalist who has written for some of Turkey's leading dailies including Hurriyet and Milliyet. He founded the now closed opposition daily Taraf.

Ilicak, 73, was one of the very first journalists arrested in July after the coup bid. Briefly an MP, she wrote for several dailies including Hurriyet.

Press freedom in Turkey has slipped substantially since the failed attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more than two years ago.

Many media outlets have been closed summarily, without any form of recourse, mass trials are being held against suspected Gulen supporters and vocal government opponents and Turkey now has the highest number of professional journalists in prison. It is ranked 157 out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

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