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 she was still waiting to hear details of the release.

It was not immediately clear if the charges against the journalist 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).

"We are greatly relieved by the release of Raphael Boukandoura, a French journalist living in Turkiye who was threatened with deportation," RSF's Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu told AFP.

"His release ends three harrowing days in detention, which included a violent arrest on the evening of 19 January.

"The journalist, who was simply doing his job, should never have been apprehended in the first place," he said.

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

Earlier on Wednesday, the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor had said he was following "with concern" the reporter's case, especially given the deportation threat.

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

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.

RSF's Onderoglu had earlier denounced Boukandoura's arrest as a bid to "to intimidate journalists covering pro-Kurdish protests in Turkey".

He said Turkey, which ranks 159 out of 180 countries in RSF's world press freedom rankings, must "prioritise the protection of journalists and citizens' right to reliable information".

Three Turkish journalists were currently behind bars following arbitrary arrests, he added.

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