BERLIN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- German journalist Deniz Yuecel has been released from prison a year after his arrest by Turkish authorities, Yuecel's attorney Veysel Ok confirmed on Friday.
The attorney Ok posted a picture on twitter of the "WELT" newspaper correspondent embracing his spouse outside the prison facility near Istanbul, Turkey's economic, cultural and historic center.
"Finally, there is a discharge-order for my client Deniz Yuecel", the attorney wrote on the online short-messaging service. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Office confirmed the development, but also cautioned that one would still have to "wait and see" how the journalist's case progressed further.
According to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, Yuecel's release was ordered in response to the official filing of charges by the Istanbul State Prosecution Office against him for "propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "sedition."
The prosecutors demanded a prison sentence of between four and 18 years for the defendant. Throughout his year in custody, Yuecel had been awaiting the start of a formal judicial process.
Turkish authorities stressed on Friday that there had been "no political involvement" in Yuecel's case and that his release was fully in line with "national principles of law." German newspaper "WELT" reported that no ban had been imposed on Yuecel from leaving the country, potentially allowing him to return to Germany soon.
Similarly, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) said on the side-lines of the ongoing Munich Security Conference (MSC) that, according his own "state of knowledge", Yuecel would now be able to leave Turkey again.
The imprisonment of the "WELT" correspondent in the wake of a failed military coup against Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan 2016 has weighed heavily on traditionally close relations between Ankara and Berlin. Following Yuecel's release, Gabriel thanked the Turkish government "explicitly for their support in speeding up the trial" in a ministerial statement on Friday.
Gabriel specifically praised Turkish Foreign Minister Mevluet Cavusoglu for his assistance in the affair, as well as expressing his gratitude towards German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) for her "trust in the work of the Foreign office."
Today was a "good day for us all", the German foreign minister added. As several newspapers in Germany noted, however, five German citizens are currently still imprisoned on political grounds in Turkey.
