A Turkish court convicted a writer of "insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a book about last year's mass anti-government protests, handing him a suspended jail sentence of almost one year, media reported Wednesday.

The Istanbul court in a closed hearing Tuesday sentenced Erol Ozkoray to 11 months and 20 days in prison, but suspended the term for five years, the reports said.

Turkey on Tuesday indicated that dozens of Turkish hostages abducted by Islamic State (IS) insurgents in Iraq may have been freed in exchange for the release of IS militants held by Syrian rebels.

Citing security sources, the Hurriyet daily said that Syrian rebels released 50 members of IS, including the family of a key radical leader, in exchange for the release of Turkish hostages.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday dozens of Turkish hostages held by Islamic State militants in Iraq had been freed as a result of negotiations and no ransom had been paid for their release. 

"A bargain for money is totally out of the question. There were only diplomatic and political negotiations. And this is a diplomatic victory," Erdogan told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport before departing for New York for a U.N. General Assembly meeting. 

Blamed by some for prompting the rise of the Islamic State insurgency, Turkey has finally taken steps to tighten its borders with Iraq and Syria but is still disappointing the West over its low-key role in the anti-IS fight.

Western diplomats accuse President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government of failing to show wholehearted support for the battle against IS militants who control swathes of Iraq and Syria, although Turkish officials bitterly reject these claims.

Turkey's military is mulling the prospect of establishing a buffer zone along its border with Syria and Iraq amid an escalating threat posed by Islamic State extremists, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Pope Francis will visit Turkey "in the final days of November" at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Vatican announced on Friday.

Father Federico Lombardi told reporters the pontiff had received an invitation from Turkey's head of state, but that the exact date and program of the visit had yet to be finalized.

The government of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu won a vote of confidence in parliament on Saturday, little over a week after the former chief diplomat was crowned to take over from long-time premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) last week approved Davutoglu as successor to Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey as premier for over a decade with Islamic-tinted and development-focused policies and who was sworn in as president on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday visited breakaway northern Cyprus and pressed for a two-state solution on the divided island, on his first trip abroad since his inauguration.

Erdogan flew in on Turkey's new presidential plane, an Airbus delivered last week that has already been painted in the national colors and dubbed by the press as his "Air Force One."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday approved a new cabinet stacked with loyal allies just a day after he became head of state, with former Europe minister Mevlut Cavusoglu promoted to foreign minister.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who took over Erdogan's former job as prime minister on Thursday, announced a ministerial line-up little changed from Erdogan's cabinet, with only four new names.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was sworn in as Turkey's president Thursday, climbed from a humble youth in Istanbul to become one of the most significant but controversial leaders in the Islamic world.

Erdogan, who served as premier since 2003, is lauded by his supporters as a transformative figure who modernized Turkey and delivered power back to the people from the secular and military elite.