Journalist Emrah Erdoğan and Dihaber reporter Hayri Demir, who were detained on March 16, were released on Friday after they were held in police custody for a total of nine days.
The journalists were detained due to their stories about Rojava on the grounds that they became involved in activities on behalf of a terror organization.
They were referred to the Ankara Courthouse on Friday morning, where a court decided to release them on judicial probation after they testified.
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has increasingly tightened its grip over journalists and media outlets since a failed coup on July 15 that killed 240 people and injured a thousand more. As of March 1, 2017, Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has confirmed that 200 journalists and media workers are behind bars in Turkey, a world record by any measure.
Of these journalists, 179 are arrested pending trial and without a conviction. Most of the journalists do not even know what the charges are or what evidence, if any, the government has because the indictments were not filed yet. Also 92 journalists are wanted and 839 have been charged in Turkey. (SCF with turkishminute.com) March 24, 2017
