'Turkey will soon release journalist Yücel'

belijn - The German-Turkish correspondent Deniz Yücel will soon be released from Turkish captivity. That is what foreign spokesman Niels Annen thinks of the Social Democratic SPD. German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Berlin.

According to Annen, Yildirim has recently given positive signals about the release of the journalist: 'The Turks seem to realize that as long as Germans are trapped in Turkey, there can not be talk about normalization of relations between the two countries. '

Yücel has been in captivity in Turkey for more than a year. Turkish president Erdogan had publicly accused Yücel of being a terrorist and a spy. According to Erdogan, the journalist misused the 'freedom of speech' of Turkey. In addition, through 'disinformation and manipulative messages he has tried to destroy the brotherhood of our people and the integrity of our state,' Erdogan said.