Your trusted source

Nearly three years after German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel was released from prison in Istanbul, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday ruled that Turkey had violated his human rights.

In their decision, the court said Yucel's "detention amounted to an 'interference' with his exercise of his right to freedom of expression" when "there had been no plausible reasons to suspect him of committing an offence," Deutsche Welle reports.

The court ruled that Yucel's pre-trial detention violated his rights in three cases, including his right to liberty and security, right to compensation for unlawful detention, as well as freedom of expression. 

The ECHR ordered Ankara to pay the journalist damages of €12,300.

Yucel, at the time a correspondent for Die Welt, was imprisoned from 2017 to 2018. Prosecutors accused him of 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 Tayyip Erdogan. After a failed coup attempt in 2016, tens of thousands of academics, writers, and government critics were arrested and held in prisons across Turkey, often without charges.