Deal struck for release of Turkish journalists

ANKARA

AA Photo

An agreement has been reached for the release of two Turkish journalists, Hamit Coşkun and Adem Özköse, who have been held in Syria for nearly two months. The pair is expected to be freed this week, according to Iranian diplomatic sources.

The agreement was hammered out yesterday, as Iran “did its best to contact the Syrian groups and persuade them to release those innocent people,” an Iranian diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News. He explained that the details of how the pair would be released -- whether they would be taken to the Turkish-Syrian border or handed over to somebody -- had not yet been determined. Iran’s efforts on the issue were “in close collaboration” with the Turkish authorities, he added.

Turkish foreign ministry officials contacted by the Daily News could not confirm the agreement.

The Istanbul-based Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH), which has also been involved in negotiations for the release of the journalists, said last week that it had found the pair in Damascus and later released a video showing them in good health and spirits. Coşkun and Özköse went missing on March 10 when they were preparing to shoot a documentary in northern Syria.