Turkey detains another German on terror charges
July 26, 2018
Turkey has once again arrested a German citizen on supposed "terror propaganda" charges, Germany's Foreign Ministry in Berlin confirmed on Thursday.
The German man, identified only Dennis E., was arrested in southern Turkey for allegedly producing and disseminating propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on social media.
According to local media, Dennis E. was arrested by anti-terror police in his apartment in the coastal town of Arsuz in the Hatay province. After being questioned, he was remanded in custody at the request of the public prosecutor's office on suspicion of spreading "terrorist propaganda."
Read more: The Middle East's complex Kurdish landscape
Germany's Foreign Ministry said the embassy in Ankara was in touch with Turkish authorities over the matter.
Little is known about Dennis E.; however, he is believed to be of Turkish origin.
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
German-Turkish tensions once again threaten to spill over
The man's arrest comes just a week after Germany lifted economic sanctions on Turkey and relaxed its travel advice for the country by removing a warning on its website about Germans facing a high risk of arrest when visiting the country.
Read more: Who is Deniz Yücel — and why is the German-Turkish journalist still on trial?
Tensions between Turkey and Germany escalated after the July 2016 failed coup and subsequent state of emergency, which saw a number of German nationals imprisoned, including the German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel.
Yücel was released earlier this year, although he still remains indicted on similar "terror propaganda" charges.
Despite the recent easing in relations between Berlin and Ankara, several Germans still remain in Turkish custody. At the end of June, Hozan Cane, a German singer of Kurdish origin, was detained by Turkish security forces during a campaign for the pro-Kurdish HDP party. In mid-April, Adil Demirci, a social worker from Cologne who wrote for the left-wing news agency Etha, was arrested in Istanbul along with two other reporters.
dm, law/rc (AFP, dpa)