Updated at 1.40pm
MEP David Casa has welcomed Turkey's decision to drop charges against investigative journalist Pelin Ünker in one of the cases she is facing.
Ms Ünker's case was due to continue in Istanbul on Thursday afternoon.
Earlier on Thursday, 66 MEPs from across political groups in the European Parliament demanded in a declaration that charges in Turkey brought against Ms Ünker be dropped.
A number of charges had been brought against the journalist after she reported facts resulting from the Paradise Papers and which the complainants in the case acknowledged to be true.
The MEPs described the charges against Ms Ünker as a “further blow to media freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey”.
Amazing news that the charges against @pelinunker for reporting on ???????? President Erdoğan’s son-in-law have been dropped.
— David Casa (@DavidCasaMEP) March 28, 2019
I welcome this decision. But Pelin faces other charges. These must now also be dropped. There is no true democracy without #FreePress. pic.twitter.com/vEeF0hrAEI
Mr Casa said the charges against Ms Ünker were dropped in the case concerning her reporting on the son-in-law of President Erdoğan.
Nevertheless, she still faced 13 months in jail on a case over the same series of articles involving relatives of the Speaker of House Binali Yildirim.
Mr Casa has been campaigning for Ms Ünker over the last months and has described the action against the journalist as cruel and intolerable.
He said it was one's duty to stand with journalists and safeguard media freedom as this was one way of combatting injustice.
"Today’s decision is a positive development but the other charges against the journalist must also be dropped. There is still more work to be done”.
In February, Mr Casa visited Ms Ünker in Istanbul where he met with her legal team.
Ms Ünker visited Malta two weeks ago as Mr Casa's guest. During her visit she met activists and journalists to share experiences on the increasing international challenges to media freedom. She also addressed the Daphne Caruana Galizia vigil.