The arrest was initially announced by German Green MP Volker Beck, who described it as a politically-motivated move by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Akhanli's local newspaper, the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger in western Germany, said the Turkish-born writer was arrested in the southern Spanish town of Grenada on Saturday morning. Relations between Germany and Turkey have been at a nadir since a failed putsch against Erdogan in July 2016. Turkish accusations include the charge that Germany has given refuge to wanted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants and suspected coup plotters. Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel, the Istanbul correspondent of newspaper Die Welt, has been held in jail in Turkey since February ahead of trial on terror charges.

Source: The Local August 20, 2017 06:56 UTC