Turkey Sentences Six Journalists to Life in Prison for Alleged Ties to 2016 Coup
Deniz Yucel
âThey are the first journalists to be convicted over the July 15  2016  coup  which Turkey says was orchestrated by a network led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric  Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement. Their conviction came as another court in the same courthouse ordered German journalist Deniz Yucelâdetained in Turkey for a yearâreleased from jail pending trial â the Associated Press reports.
 Yucel  is a correspondent for Germanyâs Die Welt newspaper.  He  was accused of spreading propaganda for the PKK  the violent Kurdish separatist organization  and for inciting violence in support of the Gulen movement.
 Yucel âs arrest has been a source of considerable tension between the German and Turkish governments  particularly since  he  was held so long without formal charges being filed.  He  was released a day after a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
Deutsche Welle notes that President Erdogan surprisingly stated he wished  Yucel  released during an interview with a German television network  and takes  his  subsequent release as a sign Erdoganâs power âdoes have its limits.â
Most international news organizations took note of the juxtaposition between  Yucel  being freed from jail at the same time six Turkish journalists were imprisoned on similar charges.
âThey are the first journalists to be convicted over the July 15  2016  coup  which Turkey says was orchestrated by a network led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric  Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement. Their conviction came as another court in the same courthouse ordered German journalist  [TGT] âdetained in Turkey for a yearâreleased from jail pending trial â the Associated Press reports.
 Yucel  is a correspondent for Germanyâs Die Welt newspaper.  He  was accused of spreading propaganda for the PKK  the violent Kurdish separatist organization  and for inciting violence in support of the Gulen movement.
 Yucel âs arrest has been a source of considerable tension between the German and Turkish governments  particularly since  he  was held so long without formal charges being filed.  He  was released a day after a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
Deutsche Welle notes that President Erdogan surprisingly stated he wished  Yucel  released during an interview with a German television network  and takes  his  subsequent release as a sign Erdoganâs power âdoes have its limits.â
Most international news organizations took note of the juxtaposition between  Yucel  being freed from jail at the same time six Turkish journalists were imprisoned on similar charges.