Istanbul (AFP)
Five former Turkish opposition daily Cumhuriyet, who have been sentenced to prison after being tried by freedom of expression activists, were released Thursday, their lawyer said. .
Their release had been ordered by a Turkish court of appeal.
The released journalists, including the famous cartoonist Musa Kart, were part of a group of 14 Cumhuriyet employees who were sentenced to prison in 2018 and who had their appeals rejected by another court.
They had been found guilty of supporting, by their writings, three organizations classified as "terrorists" by Turkey, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the network of preacher Fethullah Gülen, to whom Ankara blames the responsibility for the failed coup in July. 2016.
The trial of Cumhuriyet's collaborators has become emblematic of the erosion of press freedom in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
It ranks 157th out of 180 countries in the 2018 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
In addition to this trial, Cumhuriyet went through a difficult transition last year with a sudden change in the management team. In protest, dozens of journalists, most of whom were sentenced at the trial, resigned.
© 2019 AFP