Journalist Mevlüt Öztaş, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while in jail and is currently at stage four of the disease, has been released from prison.
The development was announced by the journalist’s daughter, Büşra Öztaş, on Tuesday.
Öztaş has been in prison for two-and-a-half years for alleged membership in the faith-based Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
Öztaş was recently sentenced to nine years, three months in prison by a local court for his 20 years of work at the Gülen-affiliated Cihan news agency.
A regional court refused to release the journalist despite a medical report from an Ankara hospital deeming him unfit to remain in prison.
After that, his daughter launched a signature campaign for her father’s release.
Büşra Öztaş has also been actively campaigning for her father’s release on social media. In a tweet announcing the decision, she thanked famous singer Haluk Levent for taking an interest in the issue. (turkishminute.com)
