Turkish authorities granted permission to German consular officers to visit German-Turkish journalist Meşale Tolu, who has been under arrest in pre-trial detention since April 30 over charges of disseminating the propaganda of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to a story in Deutsche Welle (DW) on Monday, German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer said after a series of discussions with Turkish authorities, a visit by German officials to Tolu has been permitted.
“We have received this information by phone but are still awaiting written confirmation,” he added. Diplomats will be able to visit Tolu on June 2, Schaefer said.
German-Turkish relations have become strained in recent months after Ankara denied German parliamentarians permission to visit German soldiers serving at İncirlik Airbase in the coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as well as the detention of Tolu and fellow journalist Deniz Yücel on similar charges.
Yücel had previously received consular visits, but requests to visit Tolu had been repeatedly denied.