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| German Die Welt reporter Deniz Yucel to leave Turkey jail | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Die Welt journalist Deniz Yucel is being freed from jail in Turkey after a year in detention accused of spreading propaganda, German officials say. | Die Welt journalist Deniz Yucel is being freed from jail in Turkey after a year in detention accused of spreading propaganda, German officials say. |
| His case was an irritant in German-Turkish relations, and on Thursday Chancellor Angela Merkel had pressed for his release. | His case was an irritant in German-Turkish relations, and on Thursday Chancellor Angela Merkel had pressed for his release. |
| Mr Yucel, 44, was arrested in Istanbul a year ago and accused of writing propaganda in support of terrorism. | Mr Yucel, 44, was arrested in Istanbul a year ago and accused of writing propaganda in support of terrorism. |
| Turkey labels separatist militants in the Kurdish community as "terrorists". | Turkey labels separatist militants in the Kurdish community as "terrorists". |
| Mr Yucel was arrested after reporting that the Turkish energy minister's email account had been hacked. The journalist has both German and Turkish citizenship. | Mr Yucel was arrested after reporting that the Turkish energy minister's email account had been hacked. The journalist has both German and Turkish citizenship. |
| German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has confirmed that Mr Yucel will now leave Turkey. He said it was a result of German diplomatic efforts and there had been intensive discussions with Ankara. | |
| "We have a Turkish court decision that Deniz Yucel will be freed," he told reporters. | |
| Nevertheless, Turkey's Anadolu news agency said prosecutors presented an indictment on Friday seeking up to 18 years in jail for the journalist. The charges are "spreading terrorist propaganda" and "stirring enmity". | |
| Read more on the crackdown in Turkey: | |
| Diplomatic pressure | |
| On a visit to Germany on Thursday the Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, had voiced hope that proceedings in Mr Yucel's case could be speeded up. | On a visit to Germany on Thursday the Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, had voiced hope that proceedings in Mr Yucel's case could be speeded up. |
| Mr Yucel is among more than 100 journalists and writers arrested in Turkey since the failed July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. | |
| The Turkish authorities accuse the detainees of links to the alleged coup mastermind - US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen - or to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels. | |
| Soon after Friday's announcement about Mr Yucel, a Turkish court sentenced three prominent journalists to life in jail on charges of aiding the Gulen network. They were named as Mehmet Altan - who is also an economics professor - his brother Ahmet, and Nazli Ilicak. | |
| Despite Mr Yucel's imminent release, five others with dual German-Turkish citizenship remain in jail in Turkey on political grounds. | |
| Another two were freed recently - journalist Mesale Tolu and human rights activist Peter Steudtner. | |
| The German government's relations with Turkey - a Nato ally - have been strained because of Mr Erdogan's massive crackdown on opponents since the coup attempt. | The German government's relations with Turkey - a Nato ally - have been strained because of Mr Erdogan's massive crackdown on opponents since the coup attempt. |