An İstanbul court on Monday evening issued a detention warrant for former Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Eren Erdem, who was released pending trial earlier in the day, the Diken news website reported.
Erdem was arrested on June 29 on charges of “aiding a terrorist organization” five days after parliamentary and presidential elections in which he failed to secure a seat in the legislature. He faces a prison sentence of between nine and 22 years.
During a hearing at the İstanbul 23th High Criminal Court on Monday morning, the court decided to release him pending trial and subject to judicial supervision.
However, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office later in the day objected to Erdem’s release, claiming that he could flee abroad, and a higher court accepted its objection and issued a detention warrant for Erdem.
Before becoming a deputy, Erdem was a journalist for the Karşı daily, which published documents from corruption probes that became public knowledge in December 2013 and implicated the family of then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
There are 12 defendants in the trial including Erdem.