German newspaper Die Welt will bring Turkey to European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to increase pressure on Ankara to release its reporter Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish national, who has been in custody for more than six months.
The European Centre for Press Freedom reported on Tuesday about the newspaper decision to bring the case to the ECtHR.
“We will use all legal means in order to obtain the freedom to report, both for Deniz Yucel and for the newspaper,” Die Welt Managing Director Stephanie Kaspar said.
The daily is unable to provide coverage from Turkey independently after Mr. Yucel’s imprisonment.
The move had the backing of the German Justice Ministry. German Justice Minister Heiko Mass said Germany will “try everything in order to get a fair trial” for Mr. Yucel.
The incident points to an escalation of Turkey’s diplomatic tug of war with the EU countries over freedom of expression and Turkish authorities’ crackdown on journalists, national or foreigners.
Mr. Yucel was placed in custody in February over terrorism charges. Berlin dismisses the trial against him as politically motivated.