15 academics who were detained for having signed a declaration denouncing military operations against Kurdish rebels, have been released after questioning, the Associated Press reports citing Turkey's state-run news agency.

The scholars were among more than 1,000 academics who endorsed the declaration this week, triggering ire from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and prompting prosecutors to launch probes into the signatories over possible "terrorist propaganda" charges.

The 15 who were released after questioning Friday, January 15 are lecturers at Kocaeli University in northwest Turkey. Three other academics from Uludag University are still in custody. Authorities meanwhile detained one other academic, the Anadolu Agency reported.