The court in Turkey on Thursday freed seven journalists detained for covering mass protests in the country, among whom is an AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.
The arrests follows days of mass protests that erupted on March 19 after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s main political rival – was arrested on corruption charges.
Imamoglu rejects accusation, saying charges political motivated.
Akgul, 35 and his colleagues were arrested at their homes before dawn and charged with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches and failing to disperse despite warnings”, court documents showed.
On Thursday, an Istanbul court released Akgul and the six other journalists after their lawyers objected to their pre-trial detention.
Turkey ranks 158 out of 180 countries listed in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index compiled by RSF.
