Two journalists who had been incarcerated on Tuesday in Turkey after a court decision were released on probation a short time later due to preventive measures against the pandemics, while a third journalist found guilty on similar charges was jailed.
Journalists Barış Pehlivan and Murat Ağırel will be held under correctional control till the end of their prison terms.
Both journalists were found guilty of making a news story about the funeral of a Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) officer who was killed in an explosion while serving in Libya.
Pehlivan and Ağırel had been indicted in March 2020 for disclosing the identity of an intelligence officer and disclosing information related to ‘the security and political interests of the state’.
The two and Hülya Kılınç, a third journalist who was indicted on similar accusations, had been detained and kept in custody for six months till they were released on 9 September 2020.
After the recent court ruling to uphold a previous verdict, Hülya Kılınç was taken from her house by the police, and was placed in a prison in the Western province of Manisa.
Pehlivan and Ağırel said on a TV broadcast after they were released that ‘Damocles’s sword was still hanging over their heads.’
The two also explained about how they had been taken to an isolated spot 10 km away from the prison compound and had been left there in the middle of nowhere, and that they were not able to contact anyone because they did not have their mobile phones. Finally a passer by lent his mobile to them and they were able to call for help, and were eventually picked up.
