German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel, jailed in Turkey, has been moved from solitary confinement, according to media reports. He was detained in February and accused of spreading terrorist propaganda.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Schindler
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German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel, who has been detained at a prison outside Istanbul for nine months, is no longer in solitary confinement, a German newspaper has reported.
Yücel has been transferred from isolation to a single cell, which has access to a courtyard during the day and is connected to two other cells, Die Weltcited his lawyer as saying. Yücel is the Turkish correspondent for the newspaper.
One of the other cells houses journalist Oguz Usluer, who used to work for the Turkish daily Haberturk.
Still mostly alone
Despite more than 290 days in solitary confinement, Yücel has had no contact with the other inmates other than Usluer, the paper added.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Die Welt that he was delighted at the news.
"Something is finally moving," he said, adding that the German government "will not lessen our efforts" to pressure Turkish authorities to allow Yücel to return home.
Yücel was arrested in Istanbul in February, accused of spreading "terrorism propaganda" and "inciting hatred," charges the journalist has denied.
He has been remanded in custody ever since but no formal charges have yet been brought.
Dilek Yücel speaks to DW about jailed journalist, Deniz
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Erdogan defiant
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly described the journalist as the German "spy" and "agent" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which in 2015 renewed its insurgency seeking to achieve Kurdish autonomy in southern Turkey.
Yücel has described his prolonged isolation at the maximum security Silivri prison as torture, and with the support of the German government has demanded a speedy and fair trial.
He appealed to Turkey's Constitutional Court to have his pre-trial detention overturned. But the case has yet to come to court, due to a backlog of legal cases following a failed coup against Erdogan's government in July 2016.
European court to rule
Yücel has meanwhile taken his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Last week, the Turkish government told the Strasbourg-based court that it considers Yücel's pre-trail detention to be justified, and called for his appeal to be rejected.
The Ankara government said the measures taken against the journalist are "necessary and appropriate." The court is due to make its ruling soon.
Yücel's jailing — and those of other German nationals — have sent German-Turkish relations to new lows.
Tensions were already high after the Berlin government accused Erdogan of a power grab by seeking to change the Turkish constitution to give himself more powers.
Germany has also criticized Turkey's response to the failed coup, which saw tens of thousands of public and military officials, journalists and religious leaders rounded up. They were accused of having links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey says orchestrated the putsch attempt.
Turkey, meanwhile, has accused Germany of harboring military officials and diplomats who it says played a role in the attempted takeover.
Why are German and Turkish relations so strained?
German-Turkish relations have deteriorated since the failed coup against Turkish President Erdogan in 2016 and the crackdown that followed. DW looks at some of the key moments that soured ties between Berlin and Ankara.
Image: picture-alliance/POP-EYE/B. Kriemann
The Böhmermann affair
March 31, 2016: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed charges against German comedian and satirist Jan Böhmermann over his "defamatory poem" about the Turkish leader. German prosecutors eventually dropped the charges on October 4, 2016, but the case sparked a diplomatic row between Berlin and Ankara.
German lawmakers pass resolution to recognize 1915 Armenian Genocide
June 2, 2016: The resolution passed almost unanimously. In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Berlin and Germany's Turkish community held protests in several German cities. Turkey had repeatedly criticized the use of the term genocide to describe the Ottoman-era Armenian killings, arguing that the number of deaths had been inflated, and that Turkish Muslims also perished in the violence.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Gallup
Tensions following failed coup in Turkey
July 15, 2016: A faction of the Turkish military tried to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but ultimately failed. Ankara accused Berlin of not taking a clear stand against the coup attempt or not doing anything about exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen's organization, who Erdogan blames for orchestrating the failed coup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Germany criticizes post-coup purge
Immediately following the attempted coup, Turkish authorities purged the army and judiciary, detaining thousands of people. The purge expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers. German politicians criticize the detentions. Turkish diplomats, academics and military members fled the country and applied for asylum in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Kurdish rallies in Cologne
Erdogan's post-coup crackdown has also been condemned by Kurdish protesters at several mass demonstrations in the west German city of Cologne. Often the rallies have called for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey considers to be a terror group. Ankara has accused Berlin of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Meissner
Arrest of German citizens in Turkey
February 14, 2017: Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for the "Welt" newspaper, was taken into custody in Turkey. Other German nationals, including journalist Mesale Tolu and human rights activist Peter Steudtner were detained in Turkey for what Berlin dubbed "political reasons." Turkey accused them of supporting terrorist organizations. All three have since been released pending trial.
March 2017: A number of German localities blocked Turkish ministers from holding rallies in their districts ahead of an April referendum in Turkey to enhance President Erdogan's powers. The Turkish leader then accused Germany of using "Nazi tactics" against Turkish citizens in Germany and visiting Turkish lawmakers. German leaders were not amused by the jibe, saying Erdogan had gone too far.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Spying allegations
March 30, 2017: Germany accused Turkey of spying on hundreds of suspected Gulen supporters as well as over 200 associations and schools linked to the Gulen movement in Germany. Turkish asylum-seekers have since accused officials working in Germany's immigration authority (BAMF) of passing on their information to media outlets with ties to the Turkish government.
Image: Imago/Chromeorange/M. Schroeder
Erdogan urges German-Turks not to vote for 'enemies of Turkey'
August 18, 2017: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed three of Germany's main political parties as "enemies of Turkey" and told Turks living in Germany not to vote for them in September's general election. He singled out Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Greens. Merkel said Erdogan was "meddling" in Germany's election.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/AA/M. Ali Ozcan
Merkel says Turkey should not become EU member
September 4, 2017: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during an election debate that she didn't think Turkey should become a member of the European Union and said she would speak with other EU leaders about ending Ankara's accession talks. In October, she backed a move to cut Turkey's pre-accession EU funds.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Turkey's military offensive in Afrin
January 20, 2018: The Turkish military and their Syrian rebel allies launched "Operation Olive Branch" against the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin in northern Syria. The move was criticized by German politicians and prompted large protests by Kurdish communities in Germany.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose
Journalist Deniz Yücel released from prison
February 16, 2018: Turkey ordered the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel after he'd been held for over a year without charge. According to Turkish state media, Yücel was released on bail from pre-trial detention. Prosecutors asked for an 18-year jail sentence for Yücel on charges of "terror propaganda" and incitement.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress/Stauffenberg
Özil quits
July 2018: German footballer Mesut Özil quit the national team following the fallout from his meeting with the Turkish president. Özil said he was being made a scapegoat for Germany's forgettable performance at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow because of his Turkish heritage. Erdogan praised Özil's decision and slammed the "racist" mistreatment of the footballer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Presidential Press Service
Travel ban lifted
August 2018: A Turkish court removed the travel ban on German journalist Mesale Tolu, who was arrested last year on terrorism-related charges. But the trial against Tolu, who has since returned to Germany, is set to continue. Her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, has been ordered to remain in Turkey.
