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Turkey arrests German national over PKK propaganda: report
ANKARA, July 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Turkish authorities arrested a German
national over making terror propaganda for outlawed Kurdish insurgents, local
media reported late Wednesday.
The German man was detained on Wednesday by police in the southern province
of Hatay and then charged later in the day, DHA news agency said.
No details were given by the agency about the man except naming him as
Dennis E.
He is accused of spreading terror propaganda on social media for the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency against the
Turkish state since 1984.
The PKK is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
Diplomatic tensions mounted between Ankara and Berlin over the crackdown
that followed the July 2016 failed coup and the state of emergency during
which several German nationals were also imprisoned. The two-year state of
emergency ended last week.
But following the release of several German nationals including the German-
Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel earlier this year, the strains have eased
somewhat.
Last week, Germany lifted economic sanctions on Turkey and relaxed its
travel advice to the country, removing a warning on its website about its
nationals facing a high risk of arrest when visiting Turkey.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1423 hrs