Two Vice News journalists who were arrested in Turkey on terror-related charges have been released from jail, a Turkish government official said today.
Their assistant will remain jailed pending the conclusion of an investigation.
The two British journalists, correspondent Jake Hanrahan and cameraman Philip Pendlebury, were detained last week in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's mostly Kurdish southeast, after filming in a neighborhood where Kurdish youths frequently clash with Turkish security forces.
The government official told The Associated Press that Hanrahan and Pendlebury were freed today. He did not know if they would be allowed to leave Turkey or were required to remain in the country pending trial.
A lawyer representing the journalists could not immediately be reached for comment.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government rules that bar government officials from speaking to journalists without prior authorization.
The news of their release came a day after the journalists were transferred to a high-security prison in Adana more than 500 kilometres away from their lawyers and the courthouse in Diyarbakir where they face trial.
Vice News is a New York-based news channel that produces documentaries, breaking news reports and investigative pieces.
The arrests have prompted strong protests from media rights advocates, the US and the European Union.
Scores of people have died since July in renewed fighting between Kurdish rebels and Turkey's security forces.
Their assistant will remain jailed pending the conclusion of an investigation.
The two British journalists, correspondent Jake Hanrahan and cameraman Philip Pendlebury, were detained last week in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's mostly Kurdish southeast, after filming in a neighborhood where Kurdish youths frequently clash with Turkish security forces.
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Their Turkey-based assistant and translator was also detained.
The government official told The Associated Press that Hanrahan and Pendlebury were freed today. He did not know if they would be allowed to leave Turkey or were required to remain in the country pending trial.
A lawyer representing the journalists could not immediately be reached for comment.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish government rules that bar government officials from speaking to journalists without prior authorization.
The news of their release came a day after the journalists were transferred to a high-security prison in Adana more than 500 kilometres away from their lawyers and the courthouse in Diyarbakir where they face trial.
Vice News is a New York-based news channel that produces documentaries, breaking news reports and investigative pieces.
The arrests have prompted strong protests from media rights advocates, the US and the European Union.
Scores of people have died since July in renewed fighting between Kurdish rebels and Turkey's security forces.
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