Raphael Boukandoura, 35, who has lived legally in Turkey for at least a decade and holds an official press card, was covering the protest for French daily Liberation when he was arrested on Monday evening.

"I'm on my way home," he told AFP in a brief phone call after leaving the migrant detention centre in Arnavutkoy near Istanbul airport.

His lawyer Emine Ozhasar confirmed he had been freed, telling AFP they were still waiting to hear details of his release.

It was not immediately clear if the charges against him had been dropped.

She earlier said Boukandoura had been transferred to a migrant detention centre and was facing possible deportation.

His arrest on Monday evening at a protest called by the pro-Kurdish opposition party DEM sparked concern from rights groups and the French government.

According to the MLSA rights group, Boukandoura was "accused of chanting slogans" at the demonstration against a military offensive targeting Kurds in northeastern Syria.

Police broke up the protest and arrested 10 people, including the journalist.

Boukandoura's release was hailed by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"The release of a journalist threatened with deportation is a great relief to us, because it is a recognition of the injustice Raphael suffered," RSF's Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu told AFP.

The French foreign ministry had on Tuesday said it hoped Boukandoura would be "freed as quickly as possible" in a statement sent to AFP.

The European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor had also said he was following "with concern" the reporter's case, especially the threat of deportation.

"Independent journalism is really a hazardous job in Turkiye for locals and foreigners," he wrote on X earlier on Wednesday.

RSF had earlier called it "unacceptable" to threaten a French journalist with expulsion for doing his job.

"It is intended to intimidate journalists covering pro-Kurdish protests in Turkey," Onderoglu said.

Liberation, along with Courrier International, Mediapart and Ouest-France -- other outlets that have published Boukandoura's work -- had all issued statements calling for his immediate release.

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