ISTANBUL—A Turkish judge ordered the release of five defendants accused of assisting onetime auto titan Carlos Ghosn in making an undeclared layover in Turkey late last year after he fled Japan inside a musical-equipment box.
The five men—one airline manager and four pilots—were taken into custody in early January and have been accused of migrant smuggling, a charge carrying up to eight years in prison. The judge ordered their release pending a verdict to the trial, which had its first hearing in Istanbul on Friday. The next…
