A lawyer said that a Turkish court, have sentenced five journalists to prison terms for revealing the identities of two security agents who were killed in Libya, according to Reuters.
Two journalists were sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in jail, while 3 others were given 4 years and 8 months for "violation of National Intelligence Agency law", defense lawyer Celal Ulgen told Reuters.
Meanwhile, 2 other defendants were acquitted from the charges and the court delayed the case of an eighth defendant, he added.
The charges were centered on articles and social media posts published shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in February that "several martyrs" had been lost in Libya.
The defendants said they were doing their jobs as reporters and denied all accusations.
"We will take this ruling to an appeals court. This is not a lawful decision, this is a political decision," Ulgen said.
Critics say Erdogan has eroded the independence of courts and the media since a crackdown following an attempted coup in 2016.
Turkish courts do not generally confirm rulings to the media and there was no word on the case from the government.
Turkey has been backing Libya's Government of National Accord in western Libya giving it military support and training, against Haftar's Libyan National Army in the East.
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