German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called the prison sentence handed down on German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel an "absolutely wrong signal" and "does not help build confidence in the implementation of the principles of rule of law in Turkey."
"Further investigations are incomprehensible for me. This shows that we continue to have significant differences in the protection of freedom of the press and freedom of expression," Maas said on Twitter.
"We must also not forget that many Germans are still in Turkish custody. Cases of unresolved imprisonment stand in the way of normalizing #Turkey relations with us and with the European Union as a whole," Germany's top diplomat added.
A Turkish court in Istanbul sentenced Die Welt journalist Deniz Yücel to two years and nine months in prison.
Yücel, who currently lives in Germany and did not attend the more than two-year-long trial, was convicted by the court of "incitement to hatred" and producing "terror propaganda" in the articles he wrote for the German newspaper as Turkey correspondent. Among other things, Yücel was accused of spreading propaganda for the Kurdistan People's Party (PKK) — a group that is outlawed in Turkey.
Yücel's lawyer said he will appeal the decision, Deutsche Welle reported.
