Turkey’s oppo journalist joins free press protest

ISTANBUL: Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet’s chairman Akin Atalay on Thursday joined a protest for free press and justice outside an Istanbul court, a day after he was released after serving over 500 days in prison.

The contentious case, seen as a test of press freedom under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saw a court on Wednesday hand out multiple prison sentences to over a dozen Cumhuriyet staff for "aiding and abetting terror groups without being a member."

They however remain free pending appeal. Atalay, who was the only journalist remaining behind bars as others were gradually freed during the trial, demanded justice outside Istanbul’s main court Caglayan.