Turkey sentences German man to six years in jail

A Turkish court has sentenced a German national, who has been held in Turkey since March, to six years and three months in prison for membership in a terrorist organization, his lawyer told dpa.

The court in south-eastern Turkish town of Sirnak separately sentenced the 29-year-old man, identified under strict German privacy laws only as Patrick K, to one year and eight months in jail for entering a military exclusion zone, according to his lawyer Huseyin Bilgi. This sentence was suspended, Bilgi said, adding that they will appeal against the verdict.

The man from central Germany was facing court proceedings for the second time. The second trial took less than an hour.

His trial started in the south-eastern Turkish town of Sirnak earlier this month. The judge at the time decided against letting him be released from detention due to the severity of the accusations against him

Friday's verdict coincides with a visit by German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier to Turkey.

Altmaier on Thursday in Ankara stressed Germany's commitment to "compliance with human rights and press freedom," but declined to mention the Turkish government.

Last year, a series of arrests of German citizens in Turkey led to a crisis between Berlin and Ankara.

Patrick K was arrested on the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkish state news agency Anadolu previously reported. His family says he was there to go hiking.

Turkish authorities had accused Patrick K of being a member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a militia active in Syria that Turkey classifies as terrorist, his lawyer told dpa earlier this month.