An international travel ban on journalist Hasan Cemal has been lifted by the İstanbul 24th Heavy Penal Court.

 

After reviewing an appeal by attorney Fikret İlkiz, the court ordered the lift of the ban, stating that it considered "the remaining amount of penalty for the defendant."

 

Cemal learned about the ban on Sunday (December 2), when his passport was confiscated at İstanbul Airport upon a court order. Cemal and his wife were at the airport for their flight to Berlin at 12.30 p.m.

 

However, the notification letter he had to sign was dated November 11, which means he had not been notified about the ban for weeks.

 

Cemal was given a postponed prison sentence of 3 months and 22 days for his articles on the Kurdish question. Attorney İlkiz stated in his appeal that there was not an arrest order against Cemal and the case was being reviewed at the Court of Cassation.