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Turkish court acquits German journalist Mesale Tolu
Acquittal for the German journalist Mesale Tolu, seen here in archive images, one year after her arrest in Istanbul in April 2017. At that time, the journalist of Kurdish origin was arrested and held in detention for more than seven months. She, her husband and others were accused of membership in the MLKP party, which is banned in Turkey and considered left-wing extremist, as well as terrorist propaganda. Her husband was also acquitted. Max Lucks is a member of the Bundestag for the Green Party and sits on the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid. “This acquittal today is good. But it’s also the least that was to be expected. What would actually have been expected would be that a German journalist would not be arrested because of her journalistic work, that a German citizen would also have the right to consular care is made possible. And that is why this process, which is now coming to an end, still shows a break with European values. And we must not get used to that.” It is unacceptable how Turkey ignores the European Court of Human Rights, said Lucks. “Turkey has been a member of the Council of Europe for longer than Germany. It has committed itself to implementing the European Convention on Human Rights. We are now appealing to that as well. The Council of Europe must find a unified answer if Osman Kavala remains in prison, because Kavala and the co-defendants who just stand for this colourful, democratic, European Turkey, which Erdogan just doesn’t want. And that means Europe has to stand by this Turkey, Europe has to stand by Osman Kavala and others.” Tolu has now been acquitted of both charges by a court in Istanbul. She herself followed the verdict from Germany.
She, her husband and others were accused of membership in the MLKP party, which is banned in Turkey and considered left-wing extremist, as well as terrorist propaganda.