Ankara: A Turkish court has ruled that two journalists should be released on bail for the duration of their trial for subversion, a lawyer at the courthouse said.

Murat Sabuncu, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, and writer Ahmet Sik were ordered released, the lawyer said. However, the paper said that its lawyer, Akin Atalay, was remanded in custody until the next hearing on March 16.

Prosecutors charge that Cumhuriyet was effectively taken over by supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric blamed by the government for a 2016 failed coup.

Seventeen staff members face terror charges in the trial. Some were released on bail last year. 

The newspaper and staff deny the charges and said they were being targeted to silence critics of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.