Lawyers for detained Deniz Yucel to take case to Ankara top court
Laywers for detained German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel have lodged an appeal against his arrest with Turkey’s Constitutional Court. Yucel’s arrest last month has strained ties between Ankara and Berlin.
Two weeks after an Istanbul court denied an appeal against journalist Deniz Yucel’s detention, his lawyers on Wednesday took the case to the Constitutional Court in Ankara, Turkey’s highest court.
According to German newspaper “Die Welt,” where Yucel’s worked as a correspondent, lawyers submitted an application this week arguing that his imprisonment violated his physical integrity, personal freedoms, right to a fair trial, and right to freedom of expression, among other legal breaches.
Turkish authorities issued an arrest warrant against Yucel in February, charging him with spreading propaganda on behalf the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and cleric Fethullah Gulen’s movement, as well as sedition. Yucel’s lawyers also maintain that Yucel’s writing is protected by Turkey’s press freedom and freedom of expression law.
