Turkey detains 5 Germans on terror charges
The German Foreign Ministry has confirmed five
German citizens are receiving consular support, following reports that Turkish
authorities detained five German citizens this week.
The five are accused of membership in an illegal
organization and spreading propaganda, pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency
reported late on Friday, without naming a group of their alleged membership.
Since a failed coup in 2016, several Germans have
been targeted in Turkey over alleged terror ties, mainly to the banned
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The PKK is considered to be a terror group by
Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
Speaking to the French news agency AFP, the German
Interior Ministry denied claims that information leading to the detention of
the five had been handed over to Turkish authorities during Interior Minister
Horst Seehofer's visit to Ankara this week.
However, a ministry spokesman would not rule out
that such information could have been exchanged "as part of the routine
cooperation between our security services."
A series of arrests of Germans in 2017, including
the detention of journalists and activists, fueled a diplomatic spat between
Berlin and Ankara.
Many of those arrested were allowed to leave Turkey
while court cases against them continue in their absence.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu in March
this year threatened to detain individuals who came to Turkey if they were
involved with the PKK and other groups.
"We have now taken measures against those who
take part in the terror organization's meetings in Europe, Germany and then
come to Antalya, Bodrum, Mugla for a holiday," Soylu said. "Let them
enter the airports. They will be detained."
