UPDATE - Turkish professor accused of FETO links released

UPDATES WITH RELEASE OF MEHMET ALTAN, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Ismail Ozdemir

ISTANBUL (AA) - An Istanbul court on Wednesday released a Turkish professor, who was earlier sentenced to life, over his links to the terror group behind the defeated coup in Turkey in 2016.

Mehmet Altan has been released under judicial control upon his appeal to the penal department of Istanbul’s regional court of justice.

Speaking to the reporters following his release, Altan said his detention was “unlawful.”

“I was also fired from Istanbul University, the school in which I had been a professor since 1993,” Altan said.

Earlier in the day, in a preliminary proceedings report, the penal department recalled that earlier this year the Constitutional Court had ruled that Altan's personal freedom and security had been violated.

Altan has also been put under a travel ban.

In February, Altan was slapped with an aggravated life sentence for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.