It’s been a hectic 24 hours in Turkey with the welcome news of the release of four journalists, Tuncay Özkan, Merdan Yanardağ, Yalçın Küçük (see my blog of 15 December 2013) and Hikmet Çiçek who were accused of committing terrorist acts in the Ergenekon case.
Upon his release, Özkan has thanked the European Federation of Journalists and its affiliates for their tireless campaigning for the freedom of journalists in prison. Özkan and the three journalists were released Monday evening have been united with their families and friends.
The releases were made possible due to the change in the country’s anti-terrorism laws, which reduced the maximum pre-trial detention period from 10 years to five years. I will be attending the resumed OdaTV trial in Istanbul for the EFJ (see previous blogs) on 1 April and hope that all the charges against our colleagues in this case are thrown out.