Ankara condemns arrest of Turkiye journalists by Germany, calls for immediate release

Ankara, on Wednesday, called on Germany to release Turkish journalists arrested in Frankfurt after reporting on the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkiye, Anadolu News Agency reports.

“The detention of Frankfurt Bureau representatives of Sabah newspaper by the German police today, without justification, is an act of harassment and intimidation against the Turkish press. We strongly condemn this heinous act,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“We expect the immediate release of journalists who were targeted by a false denunciation of a [Fetullah Terrorist Organisation] member for their reporting on the terrorist organisation’s… activities in Germany,” it added.

Necessary initiatives have been taken in Germany regarding the issue, and our strong reaction is conveyed to the German ambassador to Ankara, Jurgen Schulz, who was summoned today, the Ministry said.

READ: German police raid office of Turkiye daily ‘Sabah’