Deniz Yücel

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci met with the local Turkish community on March 5 at an event in the city of Cologne.        

The meeting comes ahead of the April 16 referendum on constitutional amendments, including the shift to an executive presidency from the current parliamentary system.

German Justice Minister has penned a letter to Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ over Berlin's decision to ban Turkish ministers from holding events in two German cities ahead of the April 16 constitutional referendum that will decide whether the current parliamentary system should be shifted to an executive presidency.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused Germany of “aiding and harboring terror” and claimed a journalist who was detained this week on terror-related charges was a German agent.

A German-Turkish journalist whose arrest in Turkey has jolted relations between Ankara and Berlin was quoted on March 1 as saying the conditions of his detention had improved markedly since his transfer to prison from a police cell.

Germany called on Turkey's ambassador to Berlin on Feb. 28 to protest the arrest of a correspondent for a German newspaper, further fueling tensions between the two NATO allies. 

Turkey's ambassador to Germany has been summoned to hear Berlin's concerns over the arrest of a Die Welt newspaper journalist, Germany's foreign minister has said.
                   

The Turkish authorities arrested and jailed the Die Welt correspondent Deniz Yucel last Monday charged for spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization, incitement to violence and incitement of hatred.

The Turkish authorities on Feb. 27 arrested a correspondent from German newspaper Die Welt on charges of "propaganda in support of a terrorist organization" and "inciting the public to violence." 

Deniz Yücel, a dual citizen of Turkey and Germany, was initially detained by police on Feb. 14. 

More Turkish journalists are currently in jail than were in prison under junta rule in the 1980s, main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said, slamming the government for staging a "civilian coup" in an attempt to stage a purge after the July 2016 coup.

"The number of jailed journalists has exceeded 150. It had never happened during the period of any coups," he said.

Four journalists have been released shortly after being detained in southeastern Turkey over a question that irritated ?anl?urfa Governor ?zzettin Küçük, daily Evrensel has reported.