An Istanbul court on Wednesday ordered the release of all the suspects in a trial of 22 students from Boğaziçi University who protested on campus against AKP government's military campaign in Syria's Afrin.
Fourteen of the students had been held in jail on charges of disseminating "terror propaganda" after their initial detention in March when police stormed dormitories at the university.
But after a first trial hearing, the judge ordered that the 10 men and four women be released. The other eight defendants had been free -- but still charged -- ahead of the trial Wednesday.
All 22 now remain charged and under judicial supervision, which means they are subject to certain restrictions and should report to the authorities.
The judge set the next hearing in the case for October 3.
The accused face jail terms of up to five years if convicted on charges of propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkish prosecutors accuse the students of seeking to discredit the army and the state by portraying them as an "occupier" and as an "illegitimate force that uses violence."
A day after Afrin was taken, a group of pro-government students opened a stand on the campus handing out sweets they dubbed "Afrin delight". Another group of students turned out to protest against the celebrations, under a banner stating "There can be no occupation and massacre sweets."
Police arrested 14 out of the 22 counterprotesters.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan then slammed the anti-war students as "terrorists".
