Captive journalist: Turkey slides down to fascism

berlin - Deniz Yücel, the German-Turkish journalist arrested in Ankara since February, accuses Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of subjecting his country to 'a regime of fear.' Turkey slides down to fascism, he says.

Yücel (44), correspondent for the newspaper Die Welt, commented in an extensive interview with the German newspaper in the edition of Saturday. The Turkish authorities arrested Yücel on February 14 to accuse propaganda of a terrorist organization. That happened during a wave of arrests after the failed coup attempt in July 2016.

Germany supports Yücel's complaint with the European Court of Human Rights and has repeatedly called on him and other Germans arrested in Turkey to be released.

The detentions have contributed to a sharp deterioration in relations between the two NATO allies.