The Adana 4th High Criminal Court on Thursday released Alparslan Kuytul, the chairman of a religious foundation in Turkey, pending trial and imposed a travel ban, the Diken news website reported.
Furkan Foundation chair Kuytul, a fierce critic of the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) in his speeches, was arrested in February for allegedly spreading the propaganda of the Gülen movement and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
He faces a sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Since a failed coup on July 15, 2016, the Turkish government has jailed its critics on terrorist propaganda charges, using speeches, social media posts and newspaper columns as evidence.
As the government accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating the abortive putsch, although the movement strongly denies it, many prominent figures in the country have been charged with supporting the movement.