Eight top members of Turkey's main medical association, including its chief, were Monday freed from detention for denouncing Ankara's military offensive in Syria's Afrin.
Last week, a prosecutor ordered the detention of 11 senior members of the Turkish Union of Doctors (TTB), after the organisation criticised the incursion, saying: "War is a man-made public health problem".
The court ruled for 8 doctors' release on condition that he regularly report to a police station. On Friday, three members were released under observation.
Authorities launched an investigation into the TTB last week. The members are accused of "propaganda for a terror organisation" and "inciting hatred and hostility".
The head of the TTB, defended himself in a statement through his lawyer on Feb. 1. "We acted as we always do as doctors. We have focused on human life and health. We will continue to act as doctors in every setting we are in. We do not accept the charges," TTB head Raşit Tükel’s lawyer Ziynet Özçelik cited her client as saying.
The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) released a statement on January 30 against the prosecution of the TTB members. The TKP says that the recent government-led prosecution is yet another proof of the fact that Turkey is no more a republic, but has shifted to an autocratic regime under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
