Ahmet Altan is released from prison, but his lawyer remains cautious

Ahval

Ahmet Altan, the Turkish writer and journalist imprisoned on charges of supporting the failed coup attempt in July 2016, has been released from prison. On Wednesday, Turkey’ Court of Cassation ordered Althan released from prison, reversing the ruling that he “evoked” the attempted coup and that he be released based on time served. This decision came only one day after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered he be released after it found that he was held on legally dubious grounds in the first place. While advocates for Turkish civil society cheered his release, some were more cautious. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a human rights lawyer in Turkey, told Ahval that he was happy to see Altan go home to his family, he had “mixed feelings” about the overall situation. “On the one hand, I am very happy because him [Altan] being released as a result of the decision of the ECHR, but on the other I am really angry with the court,” Cengiz said to Ahval News in a recent podcast.