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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Turkey journalists freed from prison after court ruling | Turkey journalists freed from prison after court ruling |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Two Turkish journalists charged with revealing state secrets have been freed from prison but still face trial. | |
| Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, from the newspaper Cumhuriyet, were detained in November over a report alleging that the Turkish government tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria. | Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, from the newspaper Cumhuriyet, were detained in November over a report alleging that the Turkish government tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria. |
| But Turkey's constitutional court challenged the charges, saying they violated freedom of the press. | |
| The pair still face possible life sentences at their trial on 25 March. | |
| Mr Dundar, Cumhuriyet's editor-in-chief, and Mr Gul, its Ankara bureau chief, were released in the early hours of Friday after spending 92 days in prison. | |
| The pair were greeted outside the jail near Istanbul by large crowds chanting support. | |
| "This is a trial of press freedom," Mr Dundar said. "We got out but more than 30 colleagues are still in prison. I hope that this ruling will pave way for their freedom as well." | "This is a trial of press freedom," Mr Dundar said. "We got out but more than 30 colleagues are still in prison. I hope that this ruling will pave way for their freedom as well." |
| Pointing to the prison, he said he would continue to fight for press freedom "until this concentration camp that you see behind me becomes a museum". | Pointing to the prison, he said he would continue to fight for press freedom "until this concentration camp that you see behind me becomes a museum". |
| Turkish reporters defiant over espionage claim | Turkish reporters defiant over espionage claim |
| 'Reputation salvaged' | |
| The constitutional court, which convened to discuss the journalists' individual petitions, ruled on Thursday that their "rights to personal liberty and security had been violated". | |
| "Their freedom of expression and freedom of press" were also violated, the court said in a statement. | |
| The decision was approved with 12 votes for and three against, Turkish media reported. | |
| The campaigning group Reporters Without Borders said the constitutional court ruling "salvaged the Turkish judicial system's reputation". | |
| But is described the finding as "just the first step" in what is likely to be a long campaign for the two to be fully cleared. | |
| The report that landed them in jail claimed to show proof that a consignment of weapons seized at the border in January 2014 was bound for Syria. | |
| They were formally charged with obtaining and revealing state secrets "for espionage purposes" and seeking to "violently" overthrow the Turkish government as well as aiding an "armed terrorist organisation". | They were formally charged with obtaining and revealing state secrets "for espionage purposes" and seeking to "violently" overthrow the Turkish government as well as aiding an "armed terrorist organisation". |
| They were held in the Silivri jail on the outskirts of Istanbul. | They were held in the Silivri jail on the outskirts of Istanbul. |
| Freedom of the press in Turkey | Freedom of the press in Turkey |
| Press freedom 'a major concern' | Press freedom 'a major concern' |