European court rules Turkey violated journalist’s human rights
A Turkish-German writer and publisher, Deniz Yücel, was arrested and detained in Turkey for a year on trumped-up terrorism charges.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Yücel’s pre-trial detention violated his right to liberty and security, right to compensation for unlawful detention, as well as freedom of expression.
In their judgement, the justices also found that the €3,700 ($4,179) compensation offer to Yücel was “manifestly insufficient in the light of the circumstances of the case.” The ECHR ordered Ankara to pay Yücel damages of €12,300.
The former correspondent for Die Welt, was imprisoned from 2017 to 2018 for supporting terrorism and had sought an 18-year sentence. Rights observers and activists pointed out, however, that Yücel was likely being targeted for his critical reporting of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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