Turkish court releases hundreds of conscripts

Out of the 989 conscripted soldiers who were detained on suspicion of being involved in the July 15 failed coup in Turkey, 758 were released on Saturday, according to a Turkish media report.

Prosecutors in the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's office recommended the release after taking their testimony, said the state-run Anadolu news agency.

An Istanbul judge ruled in favor of their release, saying their detention was unnecessary and the 758 conscripts were not a flight risk.

Military high school students were among those released on Saturday, while 231 conscripts remain in detention.

Over 9,000 people, mostly members of the military, have been arrested in the aftermath of the failed coup, according to the latest figures from Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala.

The attempted military overthrow killed over 200 people and injured over 2,000.

On Friday, a group of 21 journalists detained on suspicion of being coup plotters appeared before a court in Istanbul.

Although the court freed four of them, the rest were charged with "membership of a terrorist group," reported the Anadolu news agency.

Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, defended the arrests of reporters, saying it was necessary to distinguish between those involved with the coup and those "who are engaged in real journalism."

rs/ (AP, AFP)