DPA international (Englischer Dienst), Germany Saturday 6:04 AM GMT German reporter Yucel says he was 'taken hostage' by Turkey by Bill Heaney, Bernd Roeder and Niels C Sorrells in Berlin, Michael Fischer in Munich, and Shabtai Gold, Linda Say and Can Merey in Istanbul Berlin (dpa) - German reporter Deniz Yucel, released on Friday after a year-long detention in Turkey, says Ankara held him hostage and that the reason for his arrest remains unclear. "I still don't know why I was arrested a year ago, or, to be more precise, why I was taken hostage," he said in a video posted on the Twitter account of the Free Deniz campaign. "And I still don't know why I was released," Yucel, who works for the newspaper Die Welt, continued. Yucel, 44, arrived in Berlin late Friday. A Turkish court had ordered his release earlier that day despite accepting an indictment from prosecutors which asked for up to 18 years in prison for the journalist on charges of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "inciting people to hatred and hostility." "My arrest had nothing to do with justice or the rule of law and nor does my release," Yucel said. "Of course I'm pleased but a bitter aftertaste remains." His arrest in Turkey last February had been a major sticking point in relations between Berlin and Ankara, which became increasingly tense following the failed coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who said the release was "a good day for us all," insisted that no deal had been done with Turkey in order to secure his release. "I can assure you that there were no agreements, trade-offs or ... deals made in connection with this," he said in Berlin. Asked whether relations with Turkey had now returned to normal, he said, "I've just said that it's the beginning of a job and not the end." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "delighted for him, for his wife and family," thanking all those who had worked for Yucel's release. "It shows perhaps that dialogue is not always useless. You never know exactly how things are going to turn out," she added. On the same day that Yucel was released, Turkey jailed six local journalists for life over their alleged links to the cleric the government accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt. In his video message, Yucel said he had left behind "many other [jailed] journalists who did nothing but practise their professions." Another five Germans, whom Berlin says are political prisoners, are also still behind bars in Turkey. Yucel was arrested in Istanbul in February 2017 and remanded in custody on suspicion of terrorism-related offences, but he had previously not been officially charged with any crime. Friday's three-page indictment alleged that Yucel used the term "Armenian genocide," and had contact with members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and followers of cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accuses of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016. Yucel allegedly has one book by Gulen, according to the charges, which also mentioned a joke the journalist once related about Turks and Kurds. Erdogan expressed his views on Yucel on a number of occasions, saying he was "clearly an agent terrorist" and a "German agent." The president said there was footage and evidence to prove his claims. Die Welt editor-in-chief Ulf Poschardt on Friday lauded the media's cooperation in Yucel's case, thanking those who didn't publish information that could have put him in danger while in detention. However, Poschardt added, the fight is far from over, promising to continue trying to free the 150 journalists still in Turkish jail. The former editor-in-chief of the Turkish broadsheet Cumhuriyet, Can Dundar, who lives in exile in Europe, was less optimistic, warning that Yucel's release would have negative consequences on press freedom in Turkey. "Erdogan now knows that it's possible to negotiate over journalists," he said. "Erdogan received something in return, we just don't know what yet. Why shouldn't he imprison ever more journalists?" he said. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had hinted ahead of a meeting with Merkel in Berlin on Thursday that there would be movement in the Yucel case. "I hope that he will be released soon. I am of the opinion that there will be a development soon," Yildirim said in an interview with German state-run broadcaster ARD. He insisted Turkey's judiciary is independent. Since the end of 2017, Turkey has been seeking to improve its battered relationship with Europe, and especially Germany, a key trading partner and home to millions of people of Turkish descent.