German reporter Deniz Yucel, released on Friday after a year-long detention in Turkey, says Ankara held him hostage and that the reason for his arrest remains unclear.
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"I still don't know why I was arrested a year ago, or, to be more precise, why I was taken hostage," he said in a video posted on the Twitter account of the Free Deniz campaign.
"And I still don't know why I was released," Yucel, who works for the newspaper Die Welt, continued.
Yucel, 44, arrived in Berlin late on Friday.
A Turkish court had ordered his release earlier that day despite accepting an indictment from prosecutors which asked for up to 18 years in prison for the journalist on charges of "making propaganda for a terrorist organisation" and "inciting people to hatred and hostility".
"My arrest had nothing to do with justice or the rule of law and nor does my release," Yucel said.
"Of course I'm pleased, but a bitter aftertaste remains."
His arrest in Turkey last February had been a major sticking point in relations between Berlin and Ankara, which became increasingly tense following the failed coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who said the release was "a good day for us all," insisted that no deal had been done with Turkey in order to secure Yucel's release.
"I can assure you that there were no agreements, trade-offs or ... deals made in connection with this," he said in Berlin.
Asked whether relations with Turkey had now returned to normal, he said, "I've just said that it's the beginning of a job and not the end."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "delighted for him, for his wife and family," thanking all those who had worked for Yucel's release.
On the same day that Yucel was released, Turkey jailed six local journalists for life over their alleged links to the cleric the government accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.
Australian Associated Press