Georgia release 13 Turkish nationals after intervention by Ankara

Thirteen Turkish citizens who were arrested in Georgia were released Sunday following a series of diplomatic initiatives by Ankara, Turkish officials told the Hurriyet Daily News yesterday. “The Georgian prime minister signed the papers required to release Turkish nationals. They have been released from Rustavi Prison and have been given their documents to travel to Turkey. Some of them have already gone back to Turkey,” one official said. The 13 Turks had been arrested over a period of months on different accusations, sources said. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held a couple of phone conversations with his Georgian counterpart in order to free the Turkish nationals. Yusuf Kılıç, Ozgür Namlı, Zeynel Ali Çetinkaya, Kemal Oncer, Hayati Naldemirci, Kemal Aydin, Hasan Avci, Hamza Kaputoglu, Musa Alev, Yusuf Yalçın, Sabri Gaz and Sinan Ciftci were among the Turkish citizens who were released.