News   /   Turkey

Turkey releases two Vice News British reporters

Vice News correspondent Jake Hanrahan (L) and cameraman Philip Pendlebury (File photo)

Turkey has released two British reporters working for the US-based media outlet Vice News, who were arrested recently on alleged terror charges, a Turkish government official says.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the government official told The Associated Press that correspondent Jake Hanrahan and cameraman Philip Pendlebury were freed on Thursday.

The official, however, did not provide any information on whether they were required to remain in Turkey pending trial or would be allowed to leave the country.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing Hanrahan and Pendlebury confirmed the news of the pair’s release to Reuters.

On August 27, the two British journalists and their Iraqi translator were detained in Turkey’s southeastern city of Diyarbakir while filming clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants.

At a court hearing on August 31, the three were formally charged with "engaging in terror activity" on behalf of the Takfiri Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group as well as "intentionally aiding an armed organization."

They were later transferred to a high security prison in the southern Turkish city of Adana.

Although the reporters were released, the translator will reportedly remain in custody pending investigation.

Turkish police use water cannon to disperse protesters in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on August 1, 2015 during a demonstration against the social isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). ©AFP

Turkey has been the scene of violent clashes between security forces and protesters after Ankara started airstrikes against the positions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in southern Turkey and northern Iraq in July.

Ankara has also been widely accused of supporting the Daesh militants operating in Syria as part of a broader Western plot for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku