Germany summons Turkish Ambassador over activist detention

YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. Germany’s Foreign Ministryhas summoned Turkey's ambassadorin Berlin to protest the pre-trial detention of six activists, particularly that of German citizen PeterSteudtner, Deutsche Welle reports.

"The Turkish government needs to immediately and directly hear the German government's outrage and incomprehension as well as its crystal-clear expectations in the case of Peter Steudtner and, this time, without diplomatic niceties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schäfer said.

Schäfer said German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel had interrupted his summer vacation to attend government consultations overthe Turkish court's decision to jail Steudtner, a human rights trainer who was taken into custody earlier this month.

The spokesman said the point had been clearly made to the ambassador that Germany considered the activists' arrests to have been both unacceptable and incomprehensible, and that Berlin wanted Steudtner released immediately. "He now knows that we are serious about it," said Schäfer.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday condemned a decision earlier in the day to detainSteudtner ahead of his trial, saying it was "absolutely unjustified."

The foreign ministry had issued a separate statement calling for the rapid release of the six activists.

Activists Idil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran, Veli Acu, Günal Kurşun, Ali Gharaviand Peter Steudtner have been jailed in Turkey.

On July 5, 10 activists were arrested in Istanbul. Four have been released.

The activists are accused for being members of terrorist groups. The jailed includes Amnesty International Turkey office head Idil Eser.

Amnesty International urged to pressure Turkey to immediately stop the prosecution and release them.

Germany and the US have condemned Turkey’s actions.