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Europe

Merkel demands release of jailed journalist Yucel in Turkey

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    A man holds a poster with the slogan '#FREEDENIZ' during a protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Berlin, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Demonstrators protest against the police custody of Deniz Yucel, a correspondent in Turkey for the German daily newspaper 'Welt'. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The Associated Press)

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    People wait outside the Rotenfels festival hall in Gaggenau, southern Germany, Thursday, March 2, 2017. Justice minister Bekir Bozdag, a member of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, was scheduled to speak at a rally in Gaggenau, near the French border, as part of a campaign to get Turks in Germany to vote "yes" in an upcoming referendum on introducing a presidential system in Turkey. Authorities in Gaggenau withdrew permission for a local venue to host the event, citing insufficient space for the large number of people expected, but said that it was possible the rally could be held elsewhere. (Christoph Schmidt/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

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    Police cars park in front of the Rotenfels festival hall in Gaggenau, southern Germany, Thursday, March 2, 2017. Turkish Justice minister Bekir Bozdag, a member of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, was scheduled to speak at a rally in Gaggenau, near the French border, as part of a campaign to get Turks in Germany to vote "yes" in an upcoming referendum on introducing a presidential system in Turkey. Authorities in Gaggenau withdrew permission for a local venue to host the event, citing insufficient space for the large number of people expected, but said that it was possible the rally could be held elsewhere. (Christoph Schmidt/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded the release of German journalist Deniz Yucel from Turkish custody.

Merkel called on Turkey to free Yucel and said Wednesday night that "independent journalism must be able to exist; journalists must be able to do their job."

Yucel, 43, who was detained in Istanbul on Feb. 14 over his reports in German daily Welt about a hacker attack on the email account of Turkey's energy minister, wrote defiantly in Welt on Thursday that "even though they robbed my freedom, their interrogations and reasoning still make me laugh."

Yucel, who has both German and Turkish citizenship, was jailed Monday pending a trial on charges of terrorist propaganda and inciting hatred. On Wednesday he was taken to a prison in Silivri, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Istanbul.

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