Four Sputnik scribes in Turkey freed after testimony
Ankara/UNI: Four journalists, including Russian news agency Sputnik's editor-in-chief, working in the Turkish capital were freed on Sunday after giving testimony.
Relatives of the detained Turkish citizens told Sputnik they had been allowed to walk free after testifying against people who tried to storm their homes late on Saturday.
Wife of Sputnik Turkey’s editor in chief told media, "Mahir Boztepe has been released."
His release followed that of his three colleagues who were detained in Ankara overnight after coming to police to testify about nationalist raids on their homes. The trio called their families to say they were being released. They walked out of the Palace of Justice in Ankara minutes later and were met with a round of applause.
The prosecutor's office in Ankara said in a statement that the journalists did not commit any offense and were free to go.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called top Turkish diplomat Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier in the day, asking him to immediately free all four and guarantee their safety.
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