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Turkey arrests German national over alleged PKK propaganda

A German citizen has been arrested in Turkey and accused of spreading propaganda for the outlawed Kurdish insurgent organisation PKK, local and German media reported on Wednesday.

Published: 26 July 2018 10:16 CEST
Turkey arrests German national over alleged PKK propaganda
Photo: DPA

The German man, who is known only as Dennis E. was detained on Wednesday by police in the southern province of Hatay and then charged later in the day, DHA news agency said.

He is accused of spreading terror propaganda on social media for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been involved in armed conflict with the Turkish state since 1984.

The PKK is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

In recent years there was a rise in diplomatic tensions between Ankara and Berlin over the crackdown that followed the July 2016 failed coup, during which several German nationals were also imprisoned.  

But following the release of several German nationals including the German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel earlier this year, the strains have eased somewhat.

The Turkish government, meanwhile, ended the state of emergency, which had been in place since the coup, last week. 

Germany subsequently 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.
 

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ISLAM

Erdogan calls French separatism bill ‘guillotine’ of democracy

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday denounced a planned French law designed to counter "Islamist separatism" as a "guillotine" of democracy.

Published: 13 May 2021 15:01 CEST
Erdogan calls French separatism bill 'guillotine' of democracy
Erdogan has already denounced the proposed measures as "anti-Muslim". Photo: Adem ALTAN/AFP

The draft legislation has been criticised both inside France and abroad for stigmatising Muslims and giving the state new powers to limit speech and religious groups.

“The adoption of this law, which is openly in contradiction of human rights, freedom of religion and European values, will be a guillotine blow inflicted on French democracy,” said Erdogan in a speech in Ankara.

The current version of the planned law would only serve the cause of extremism, putting NGOs under pressure and “forcing young people to choose between their beliefs and their education”, he added.

READ ALSO: What’s in France’s new law to crack down on Islamist extremism?

“We call on the French authorities, and first of all President (Emmanuel) Macron, to act sensibly,” he continued. “We expect a rapid withdrawal of this bill.”

Erdogan also said he was ready to work with France on security issues and integration, but relations between the two leaders have been strained for some time.

France’s government is in the process of passing new legislation to crack down on what it has termed “Islamist separatism”, which would give the state more power to vet and disband religious groups judged to be threats to the nation.

Erdogan has already denounced the proposed measures as “anti-Muslim”.

READ ALSO: Has Macron succeeded in creating an ‘Islam for France’?

Last October, Erdogan questioned Macron’s “mental health”, accusing him of waging a “campaign of hatred” against Islam, after the French president defended the right of cartoonists to caricature the prophet Mohammed.

The two countries are also at odds on a number of other issues, including Libya, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean.

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