German citizen freed in Turkey but banned from leaving

A Turkish court has ordered a German citizen who was detained in southern Turkey last week to be released but banned him from leaving the country, the news agency Dogan reported today.

The released man and his German partner were detained while on holiday in Antalya, a popular tourist destination. The partner had already been freed after questioning, Dogan said.

A spokeswoman for Germany’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the man had been freed. “He is banned from leaving the country,” she said.

Dogan said the couple had been held as part of investigations into a network of supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed by Turkish authorities for a failed military coup last year, and Kurdish militants in Syria. Gulen has denied any link to the failed coup.

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The man’s release means ten German citizens remain in Turkish detention on political charges.

The arrests have raised tensions between Ankara and Berlin and led Chancellor Angela Merkel to call for a review of relations and of Turkey’s EU accession talks.