page_title: Germany–Turkey relations
section_title: Turkey's purges
hierarchical_section_title: Germany–Turkey relations / Turkey's purges
caption_attribution_description: English: Turkish Minister of National Defense Ismet Yilmaz, left, and the German Federal Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyeh sit at the head of a table during a briefing on the future objectives of coalition forces deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, during the German minister’s visit Jan. 21, 2016. Von der Leyeh came to Incirlik AB to visit with German forces deployed here and spoke on the importance of coalition partnership.
context_page_description: German–Turkish relations have their beginnings in the times of the Ottoman Empire and have culminated in the development of strong bonds with many facets that include economic, military, cultural and social relations. With Turkey as a candidate for the European Union, of which Germany is the 2nd biggest member, and the existence of a huge Turkish diaspora in Germany, these relations have become more and more intertwined over the decades. Relations with Turkey significantly deteriorated after the 2016–17 Turkish purges including the arrest of journalists such as Die Welt's Deniz Yücel.
context_section_description: On August 14, 2018, Turkish police arrested another German citizen on terrorism-related charges. German authorities said nine German nationals were in detention in Turkey for "political reasons" at that time.
  In October 2018, Germany has warned citizens visiting Turkey to be extra cautious about their social media feeds in response to a spate of cases of Germans arrested for criticism of the Turkish government. “In some cases merely ‘liking’ another's post of that nature is enough,” The Germany Foreign Ministry said that even private comments could be risky. “Non-public comments on social media can be forwarded to Turkish authorities via denunciations,”
caption: Turkish Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, Incirlik Air Base, 21 January 2016
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