Nokta magazine's editor-in-chief Cevheri Guven and managing editor Murat Capan, who face jail terms of up to 20 years were released pending trial. (Representational Image)
A Turkish court today freed pending trial two opposition journalists charged with plotting a coup over a magazine cover criticising President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's November election win, local media reported.
Nokta magazine's editor-in-chief Cevheri Guven and managing editor Murat Capan, who face jail terms of up to 20 years each on charges of provoking armed rebellion against the Turkish Republic, were released pending trial, the private Dogan news agency reported.
The pair were arrested after Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to an unexpected victory in legislative elections on November 1.
Police then raided the Istanbul offices of Nokta and detained the two editors over the cover that read: "The start of civil war in Turkey."
An Istanbul court later ordered that the magazine's latest edition be withdrawn from the shelves, accusing it of inciting the public to commit a crime.
Nokta had been raided in September by the authorities for another cover satirising Erdogan.
There has been growing concern about deteriorating press freedoms in Turkey under Erdogan and in particular over the numbers of journalists facing legal proceedings on accusations of insulting or criticising top officials.
Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, the editor-in-chief and Ankara bureau chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet daily, have held for more than a month on charges of spying over their report about Turkey's alleged arms supplies bound for Syria.