ECHR rules 2 Turkish journalists’ rights violated during pre-trial detention

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that the rights of two prominent journalists had been violated during their pre-trial detention for over a year. The case of Sahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan was taken to Turkey’s Constitutional Court, which ruled in January that both should be released, but a lower court threw out the decision. Altan, along with five other journalists, was jailed for life in February for “links to a failed military coup in July 2016.” Alpay was released under house arrest on Saturday after more than a year in detention, Reuters reports. The ECHR said that their rights to liberty, security and freedom of expression had been violated during their pre-trial detention. Rights groups and Turkey’s Western allies had said Ankara should reverse the decision on the journalists.