A Greek court released a prominent Turkish-Armenian writer living under a temporary permit in Greece after fleeing a Turkish prison on Friday.
Sevan Nisanyan, a 66-year-old linguist and blogger was arrested on the island of Samos last week and faced deportation. He had been detained after Greek authorities refused to renew his residence permit, his wife Ira Tzourou said on Facebook and Twitter.
The court released him on the condition that he leave Greece within two weeks.
The Armenian Embassy in Greece issued a statement on January 2 that it had sent a representative to the prison where Nisanyan was being held. It added that since Nisanyan is an Armenian citizen he would be welcomed back to Armenia.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Nisanyan wrote, “I have been released from custody after eight days in jail. Great thanks to everyone who sent their love and encouragement during these difficult days.”
The Turkish-Armenian writer had been jailed in Turkey in 2014 on charges of illegal construction, a case he claims was punishment for his outspoken views about restrictions on freedom of _expression_ in the country.
He escaped from a low-security prison in 2017 and sought asylum in Greece.
Nisanyan had also previously been convicted in Turkey of blasphemy over a 2012 blog defending an anti-Islam film that ridiculed the Prophet Mohammed and sparked angry protests across the world.