Turkish Court Sentences Germany-based Journalist to Jail on Terror Charges

World

July 16th, 1:01pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Soldiers holding guns walk near the Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing, in Kastanies, Greece March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Florion Goga

A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel in absentia to 2 years and 9 months to jail for terrorism propaganda, state-owned Anadolu agency said, in a case that had strained ties between Ankara and Berlin. Yucel was released from custody in February 2018, after being kept in jail for a year without an indictment. He returned to Berlin right after his release. Yucel denies the charges against him. He was accused of spreading propaganda in support of both Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Ankara of plotting the 2016 failed coup, and also of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since the 1980s. He was also charged with inciting public enmity. Yucel's arrest led to protracted row between Turkey and Germany, two NATO allies. Shortly after his arrest, Berlin banned Turkish ministers from speaking to rallies of expatriate Turks, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Yucel a terrorist agent and Ankara accused Germany of supporting Gulen's network.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2393656/turkish-court-sentences-germany-based-journalist-jail-terror-charges