It seemed too good to be true: First there came the shelving of a controversial bill that would have given amnesty to child rapists who married their victims.

Then today, Nov. 23, two prominent prisoners of conscience were reported to have been cleared of terror charges, inspiring hope that they would be set free. It later emerged that the trials of novelist Asli Erdogan and translator Necmiye Alpay over purported links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party will continue and that they would remain in jail.

Despite the setback, the moves have sparked speculation that domestic and external pressure still have some effect in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “New Turkey.” More critically, they suggest that Erdogan himself retains his instinct for pulling back from the brink when need be.

The scrapping of the child rape measure followed a public uproar marked by days of widespread protests. Even Islamists joined the barrage of criticism of what many said would give pedophiles a free pass. Then in a surprise development, Erdogan called for further debate on the proposal just hours before the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would have passed it in the parliament on Nov. 22. Turkey’s justice minister, who championed the bill, did a prompt volte-face, declaring, “The matter is closed.” The mass circulation newspaper Hurriyet cheered the news, announcing that “common sense prevailed” in front-page headlines.