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Turkish journalist detained on terrorism charges released on probation

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Ayşegül Tözeren, a columnist for the Evrensel daily and a poet who was detained by police early Tuesday on suspicion of terrorist links. was released from police custody on Friday on judicial probation, the Diken news website reported.

A travel ban was also imposed on the journalist.

Editor-in-chief of the Evrensel daily Fatih Polat announced the news of Tözeren’s detention on Tuesday.

“I spoke with Ayşegül’s mother by phone. ‘There are many police officers at our home. They are taking Ayşegül into custody. They aren’t saying anything about it,’ she said,” Polat tweeted, adding that her lawyer would not be able to see Tözeren for at least 24 hours.

 Her lawyer was later told by officials that Tözeren was being investigated for alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist group, which has been waging a bloody war in Turkey’s Southeast for decades.

In a column on Tuesday Polat criticized the detention, saying that such investigations into journalists could be conducted without a police raid on their homes.

Turkey jailed dozens of journalists on terrorism charges in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt.

Turkey was ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released in April by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

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