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.