Turkey's state-run agency says a court has ordered the release of a Ukrainian man from jail pending the outcome of his trial for trying to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were beginning in February, the Associated Press reported.
Anadolu Agency said the court freed Artem Kozlov on grounds there was no risk of him tampering with evidence, but barred him from traveling abroad and ordered that he report to a police station twice a week.
Prosecutors say Kozlov claimed to have a bomb and tried to divert the Pegasus Airlines flight, which originated in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 7. He faces between 11 and 42 years in prison over attempted hijacking and hostage-taking charges.
In a previous hearing, Kozlov denied that he threatened to set off a bomb.