Turkish court orders release of teacher on hunger strike

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s state-run news agency says a court has ordered a teacher charged with membership in an armed terror group released from the prison where he’s been on a hunger strike.

Anadolu agency reports the Ankara court ruled Friday that Semih Ozakca would be held under house arrest following five months in prison. The court refused to release academic Nuriye Gulmen, who could not attend the hearing for health reasons.

The two are being tried for alleged membership in a far-left militant group, promoting terror propaganda and violating a law on demonstrations. They have been on the hunger strike for 226 days.

Gulmen and Ozakca are among more than 110,000 civil servants who have been dismissed from their jobs under a state of emergency declared in Turkey after a coup attempt last year.