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Journalists detained in coup plot released from jail in Turkey

12 March 2012 18:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Four Turkish journalists detained on charges of links to an underground anti-government network were released on Monday afternoon, APA reports quoting Todayâ€™s Zaman.

Nedim Åžener and Ahmet ÅžÄ±k are among the four journalists jailed pending trial in the so-called Odatv case. 13 suspects are facing charges of involvement in the media wing of Ergenekon, a shadowy network believed to have plotted to topple the government, in the ongoing Odatv news portal case.

Åžener and ÅžÄ±k were arrested in March and held in a top-security prison outside Ä°stanbul since then. Their arrest has raised concerns over media freedoms in Turkey. The United States, the European Union and rights groups have criticized prosecution of journalists which they say taints Turkeyâ€™s image as a role model for democracy in the Middle East.

Two other suspects, CoÅŸkun Musluk and Sait Ã‡akÄ±r, were also released on Monday.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister BÃ¼lent ArÄ±nÃ§ welcomed the release of the journalists as a â€œpositive developmentâ€ without directly commenting on the ruling. He said â€œwe should in fact question why the court didnâ€™t delivere this decision before.â€ ArÄ±nÃ§ said he hopes the court will deliver similar decisions in other cases. He was speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

Prosecutors say a number of documents seized from the news portal include various strategies to manipulate the media and the public to get support for an investigation into Ergenekon.

Åžener and ÅžÄ±k are accused of establishing a terrorist organization, managing it, being a member of it, inciting hatred and animosity among the public, obtaining documents related to the security of the state, being in possession of documents that are prohibited from being revealed and violating private lives.

By the release of four suspects, there are now six jailed suspects in the Odatv case.

The decision of the 16th Ä°stanbul High Criminal Court overseeing the case came as a surprise.

Turkey is holding nearly 100 members of the news media in jail, one of the highest numbers worldwide, although the government says that they are not being prosecuted because of what they have written or broadcast.

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Journalists detained in coup plot released from jail in Turkey

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