A Turkish court has released journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan after more than four years in prison on charges of involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt that he had always denied.
The Court of Cassation ruling came a day after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accused Turkey of violating civil rights and demanded the 71-year-old’s freedom.
It also ordered Turkey to immediately release him and pay him 16,000 euros in damages for violating his rights to freedom of expression.
The award-winning novelist and newspaper editor was jailed after writing politically-sensitive pieces critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and in support of Kurdish rights.
Altan was arrested during sweeping purges that followed the coup attempt and was accused of backing the uprising by disseminating subliminal messages to the public.
Tweeting on social media, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor expressed happiness to hear that Turkey’s Court of Cassation had ordered the release of the novelist after more than 4.5 years in jail.
EU leader’s highlighted Turkey’s deteriorating human rights record during a summit in Ankara last week although Turkish officials argue that the courts are independent and not swayed by politics or Erdogan’s whims.
President Erdogan is mounting a charm offensive to try mend deteriotating relations with the European Union and building a new rapport with the US administration of President Joe Biden.
Western observers have been watching Altan’s case and some other renowned prisoners for signs of Turkey’s diplomatic intentions and future political course.
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