German journalist arrested by Turkish court

The court in Istanbul supported an appeal of the prosecutor1s office to arrest the German newspaper correspondent Deniz Yücel having both German and Turkish citizenship. The decision was taken despite the Berlin protest and demand to free the detained reporter.

On February 27 Martin Schäfer, German Foreign Ministry representative again called upon the Turkish authorities to free Deniz Yücel, DW reports.

The German Foreign Minister Siegmar Gabriel previously criticized Turkey, claiming „there is absolutely no need to hold Deniz Yücel in detention before he is interrogated by prosecutors”.

160 Bundestag deputies signed an open letter to the Turkish ambassador in Germany calling to free the journalist.

On February 4  Deniz Yücel voluntarily came to the police station in Istanbul. The Turkish authorities suspect him of membership in a terrorist organization, spreding propaganda andabuse of information.

State of emergency is on in Turkey, and the suspects can be detained for up to 14 days without charges being brought. Pre-trial detention can last up to 5 years.

Presumably, the case is the emails from the hacked adress belonging to Berat Albayrak, the Energy Minister and President Erdogan`s son-in-law. The emails stolen by the the Redhacks hackers group were used by Deniz Yücel in two of his publications. Redhacks was declared a terrorist organozation in Turkey.