Turkey releases writer Ahmet Altan after more than four years in prison
A Turkish court has released the journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan after more than four years in prison on charges of involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt, charges he had always denied.
The court of cassation ruling came a day after the European court of human rights (ECHR) demanded the 71-year-old’s freedom in a verdict that accused Turkey of violating his civil rights.
“I don’t know how I got out. I was sitting [in prison] and all of a sudden I was told this evening that I would be released,” Altan said at his home in Istanbul. “I just saw my children. I will now spend some time with them.”
The award-winning novelist and newspaper editor was jailed after writing politically sensitive pieces critical of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and in support of Kurdish rights.
You can read the entire story here.
A Turkish court has released the journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan after more than four years in prison on charges of involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt, charges he had always denied.
The court of cassation ruling came a day after the European court of human rights (ECHR) demanded the 71-year-old’s freedom in a verdict that accused Turkey of violating his civil rights.
“I don’t know how I got out. I was sitting [in prison] and all of a sudden I was told this evening that I would be released,” Altan said at his home in Istanbul. “I just saw my children. I will now spend some time with them.”
The award-winning novelist and newspaper editor was jailed after writing politically sensitive pieces critical of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and in support of Kurdish rights.
You can read the entire story here.