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                 Turkey Frees Journalists in High-profile Case

   by VOA News

   Turkey has released two journalists imprisoned for reports on alleged
   government arms smuggling to Syria, after nearly four months of
   imprisonment and a constitutional court ruling mandating their release.

   Cumhuriyet newspaper's editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara
   correspondent Erdem Gul were released from an Istanbul prison early
   Friday and were greeted by a large crowd of supporters.

   In remarks after they left the prison, Dundar called the decision by
   the Constitutional Court "historic" in a country that has been heavily
   criticized for abuses of media freedom.

   The secretary-general of rights group Reporters Without Borders,
   Christophe Deloire, said his group is "delighted" by the releases, but
   noted that both Dundar and Gul are still due to go on trial next month
   on charges of divulging state secrets. If convicted, they face possible
   life sentences with no provision for a pardon.

   The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists says Turkey is one of
   the worst nations in the world in terms of jailing journalists as a
   means of intimidation and suppression.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-frees-journalists-in-high-prof
   ile-case/3209078.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-frees-journalists-in-high-profile-case/3209078.html