Who Is Deniz Yücel? Journalist Released From Turkish Prison After A Year

Deniz Yücel, a German-Turkish journalist, who was detained in Turkey for a year, was released on Friday, according to a statement from his lawyer and the German Foreign Ministry.

“The court has finally decided to release my client," Yücel’s lawyer, Veysel Ok, tweeted.

A year ago, Yücel — who worked for German newspapers Die Tageszeitung and Die Welt — was charged for allegedly supporting terrorist organizations FETÖ and PKK by spreading their propaganda and inciting violence in Turkey, Politico reported.

He was also accused of espionage and working for the German Federal Intelligence Service. During a speech, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “He (Yücel) is a spy, not a journalist.”

Although Yücel denied all the allegations and no indictment was made in his case, he was imprisoned on Feb. 14, 2017 — a move that was rebuked by German journalists, politicians and the public in general.

After the German journalist reported that the Turkish energy minister's email account was hacked, he was asked to make himself available for the Istanbul police who had a few questions regarding his report. However, after he walked into the police headquarters, he was taken into custody without a proper reason, Deutsche Welle reported.

Days after his arrest, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to treat Yücel fairly.

After being detained at Istanbul's Metris prison, Yücel was transferred to Silivri maximum security prison, where he was kept in a barely livable situation. With all communications cut off from the outside world, he described his ordeal to his lawyer who conveyed it to Die Welt — one of the publications Yücel worked for.

"Solitary confinement is almost like torture," he wrote. "I can only see a 6-meter-high (20-foot) wall through the window. I can only see the sky through the barbed wire fence." He also added he was only allowed visitors once a week, that too, for "one hour behind a glass partition."

The Turkish government even banned the German Foreign Ministry from visiting him in prison. "We do not understand why it cannot be possible for our consul general to visit Mr. Yücel and the other German prisoners in Turkey on a regular basis," Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schäfer said.

A movement for Yücel’s release started on Twitter under “#FreeDeniz” as people across the globe joined in support for his freedom.

Meanwhile, the journalist’s life did not stop just because he was in prison. On April 12, 2017, he married TV producer Dilek Mayatürk, in prison — a ceremony that was witnessed by his lawyer and Safak Pavey, a member of parliament for the centrist opposition Republican People's Party.

Even after spending a year in jail, Yücel told his lawyers he had no intention of being a pawn which the Turkish government can cash in, in exchange for “dirty deals.”

After hearing the German government's case on Yücel’s release on Feb. 1, submitted to the European Court of Human Rights, Justice Minister Heiko Maas said: "Any suppression of objective reporting is incompatible with our understanding of press freedom. We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to advocate a process under the rule of law for Deniz Yücel.”